Just A Story: The Sequal
by Ashton Li
Summary: Kari has just startd the 8th grade, but she's already having issues. Yolei is in high school, so T.K. seems to be down in the dump. What will happen to Kari's relationship with her friends? Better yet, what might happen with her relationship with Davis?
1. Chapter 1

**NOTE: This is a sequal to "Just A Story". So, if you haven't read that fic yet, you might get a little confused by reading this one. Though, if you don't want to read the other one first, I'm sure you can figure out what happened (Kari kind of summarizes what happened a little.). Enjoy!**

**Just A Story: The Sequal**

Who says you can't stay with your first love? Who said there isn't a forever? Who ever said that you'll always get your heart broken? I haven't, and I don't think I will ever. Many boys have liked me. I made them know I didn't like them. I made them know I was with someone else. A year ago, I told my story, my truth. I told him that I liked him. Hearts were broken; love was found. The truth is a wonderful thing. A secret was held inside me, but I told it. I was once frail and sick. I was once a person who would hide all her thoughts. Not anymore, that isn't me. Things change when you have someone to share your life with. Things happen when you are yourself. Never will I get a broken heart. Never will I get hurt. I discovered I am as strong as I want to be. That I am the only person holding me back. I can change who I am, but I didn't have to. The truth must be told, and that is what I did. What did I get out of it? A couple of fights, some new friends, and great memories. Although those aren't the best. The best thing that happened from telling the truth, my truth, my story, was getting the love of my life. Getting the only person I could see myself with. I found love.

A year is a long time. Not many things have changed for me. Here is the next chapter, you could say, of my life. The sequel to my truth. The next part…

"I can't believe we're in 8th grade," I smiled at T.K. and Davis.

"I can't believe Yolei is in high school," T.K. said.

"It will be fine. We've made it this far. Nothing can hold us back," Davis told us.

"Kari!" Cody yelled as he ran up to us.

Let me fill you in. It has been a year since I told everyone my story. Davis and I are still boyfriend and girlfriend, none of that changed. Cody is now in 7th grade and is 13 now. Yolei is in high school, a 9th grader, she's 15. Davis, T.K., and myself are now 14. We are now in the 8th grade. Ken is 15 too, he also moved onto high school, 9th grade. Tai, Izzy, Sora, Matt, and Mimi are now 17 and moved onto the 11th grade. Now, for Joe, he's in college. He's 18 and studying to be a doctor. Don't worry, we haven't forgotten about Willis! He's 14 too and in the 8th grade. All our other friends have grown a year older. Sidney is now 17 and she's still with Matt. Lilly wasn't talked about much, but she's still with Joe. Jordan and Ken are going out still; she's going to the high school by Ken instead of her schooling being here still. Willis and Hanna are together! Now, we can't forget about the twins K.C. and Terry. K.C. broke Cody's heart, but he got over it. He's now going out with a girl named Liz. She's also in 7th grade and is 13. Matt is still into the music thing, and he's doing great. Izzy, well, he's still a compute wiz…That will never change! Tai is still into soccer, and Davis is too. I'm still into photography; did I even mention that before? T.K. is still trying to be a basketball all-star. Yolei is still into technology stuff, just like Izzy. Cody tells the truth, and only the truth, that's not going to change. Sora still plays tennis. Mimi, lets just say she always wants me to take her picture. She really likes the modeling thing, but she said she'd never be one. Ken is playing soccer still, and he's trying not to be so serious. Things haven't changed that much.

"Cody, what is it?" I asked.

"Yolei…Wants…To see…You…Before she…Leaves," Cody gasped.

"Yolei's here? Why didn't you tell us?" T.K. wondered.

"I was out of breath," he answered.

"Lets go, I want to see her in her school uniform," I walked to the doors that led outside.

"Guys! Over here!" Yolei waved us down.

"Wow, you look great in the uniform," I told her.

"It makes me feel old," she said.

"You look fine…Kari, you have got to see Mimi!" Sora smiled.

"Oh, she has to wear the uniform to!" I laughed.

"Green isn't my color!" Mimi whined.

"You guys look great," Davis told them.

"It just makes me sad that I'll be leaving this school, and my friends," Yolei stared at us.

"Oh, great, now we aren't her friends," Sora smiled.

"You haven't said much T.K.," I pointed.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, right Kari," T.K. softly said.

"Do you have any clue what she just said?" Davis wondered.

"We better get going. Have fun in high school Yolei. I'll talk to you later," T.K. didn't hear Davis.

"Sora, Mimi, I'll find my way…I need to talk to T.K.," Yolei shooed them.

"We better get going," I smiled at Davis.

"No, I need to talk to all of you," she stopped us.

"Err, um, what?" Davis questioned.

"I know things are going to be different now, but we'll always be friends," Yolei smiled.

"Right," Davis and I agreed.

"T.K.? You seem different," Yolei pointed out.

"It's just going to be weird with you not here," he told her.

"I better get going. We'll talk more after school," she decided and quickly kissed T.K. on the cheek. Then, she rushed away.

"See you later," T.K. looked sad.

"Lets go," I decided as we walked into the school.

We walked into our classroom.

"Welcome! Please state your names," the teacher immediately.

"Kari," I said.

"Full name," she requested.

"Hikari Kamiya," I tried to smile.

"Daisuke Motomiya," Davis politely said.

"And you?" the teacher looked at T.K.

"Takeru Takaishi," T.K. smiled.

"Now, if you have any nicknames, I'm ready to hear them," she told us.

"I would like to be called Kari," I smiled.

"I prefer to be called T.K.," T.K. informed her.

"Oh, Davis is what I like to be called," Davis looked clueless.

"Take a seat," the teacher pointed to three desks.

"I have a feeling she isn't going to be nice," Davis whispered.

"I'm not that sure if she is a she," T.K. smiled.

"I am Mrs. Shing. I'll be your teacher for your 8th grade school year. I will treat you with respect as long as you do the same towards me," Mrs. Shing introduced herself.

"She is a she," Davis whispered.

"And right now, some people aren't giving me respect!" the teacher snapped.

Everyone looked at Davis. He started to blush.

"I think she's waiting for you to say sorry," I hinted.

"Oh! Sorry ma'am!" Davis smiled.

"Davis, right? Mr. Motomiya, I am your teacher, right?" Mrs. Shing asked.

"Yes," Davis looked nervous.

"And you should show respect towards me, right?"

"Yes."

"Then why were you talking when I was talking?"

"Um…It's a bad habit?"

"That is no excuse! I have some rules in my classroom. If you don't respect me, I don't call you by your nicknames. Now, Davis, I'll give you a second chance, but if you talk when I am…I'll be calling you Daisuke!" Mrs. Shing explained.

"Right ma'am!" Davis looked scared.

"Now, lets get to know one another. On the first day, I let you talk for the whole class period. Get to know your class mates…I'll be back in a couple of minutes," Mrs. Shing left the classroom.

"What a jerk! Who would suffer people with her?" I questioned.

"Sorry, I over heard your comment. I agree with you. My brother had her, and he ended up being called Daniel Lee the whole year," a girl told me.

"Really? What did he like to be called?" I asked.

"Danny. Anyways, my name is Allison Amber. Al for short," she smiled.

"Well, my name is Hikari Kamiya, but most people call me Kari. This is my friend Takeru Takaishi, but we call him T.K. Oh, and this is my boyfriend, Daisuke Motomiya, but we usually call him Davis. It's nice to meet you," I told Al.

"It's nice to meet you guys!" Al said.

"I've never seen you in this school before," T.K. pointed out.

"I went to a different school. I just moved to this town. I live with my mom, while my older brother lives with my dad. Now that I live closer to him, I'll finally get to know him better," Al explained.

"You mom and dad got a divorce?" T.K. wondered.

"Yeah!"

"That's weird. I just moved here last year with my mom…I'm going through the same thing. I even have an older brother," he smiled.

"That is weird, but rather funny!" she laughed.

"So, you don't have any friends around here?" I asked.

"No, do you have any other friends?" Al questioned.

"Our friend Cody Hida is in the 7th grade. Then we have our friend Yolei Inoue who is in the 9th grade. Also, there is my brother Tai Kamiya, T.K.'s brother Matt Ishida, and our other friends Mimi Tachikawa, Izzy Izumi, and Sora Takenouchi are in 11th grade. Finally, we have Joe Kido who is in college," I told her.

"Wow, you have a lot of friends," Al smiled.

"Kari didn't mention Ken Ichijouji who is in 9th grade, but he lives in a different town. We also have Willis who is the same grade as us, but he lives in America. Of course we have a bunch of other people, but I'll just name them. Sidney, Jordan, Terry, K.C., um…Lilly, who we don't know very well…And Liz, which we also don't know that well!" Davis laughed.

"Really? You guys are packed with friends, even with people from another country!" Al laughed.

"Is that a compliment?" I wondered.

"Sure! Anyways, is there anything I should know about this school?" she questioned.

"Davis and T.K. are off limits. I think that's all," I smiled.

"Why?" Al asked.

"Davis is my boyfriend," I said.

"And T.K.?"

"Yolei is my girlfriend," T.K. smiled.

"Oh, you like the older women…I see!" Al laughed.

"Not really," he started to blush.

The classroom door opened. A head popped in, it was Izzy.

"Izzy?" I was puzzled.

"Hey Kari! How's school?" Izzy asked.

"What are you doing here?" I questioned.

"Hey! You're the guy I heard about! The person that always fixes the computers at this school!" Al pointed out.

"I prefer to be called Izzy," he smiled.

"Wait, why are you here?" I asked again.

"Oh, right! Tai wanted me to give you this. Also, I received a call from Ken. He wants you guys to meet him at his house after school," Izzy handed me a piece of paper.

"Thanks Izzy. I guess you should get going," I smiled.

"No problem. Oh, Mrs. Shing…I feel sorry for you. I'll give you this advice; don't talk when she's in the room and you won't get in trouble," he said.

"You could have told me that before we got here!" Davis yelled.

"Yeah, Daisuke already got in trouble with her," T.K. laughed.

"Right, I better get going…And Daisuke is better than being called Koushiro Izumi all year long! Or Taichi Kamiya!" Izzy smiled as he opened the door.

"If it isn't Koushiro Izumi!" Mrs. Shing said as she walked into the classroom.

"Great," Izzy mumbled.

"That is the attitude that made me call you by that name."

Izzy looked away.

"You are in high school, why are you here?" Mrs. Shing demanded.

"I had to drop something off to Kari," Izzy smiled.

"Are you her brother?"

"No."

"Then you have no reason to be here."

"I was dropping it off for her brother."

"Who?"

"Tai Kamiya."

"Taichi," I could hear the anger in Mrs. Shing's voice.

"Have fun with 8th grade guys. I got to go!" Izzy ran out of the room.

"Walk Koushiro Izumi!" Mrs. Shing yelled to him.

"Right!"

"This will be an interesting year," Mrs. Shing smiled.

Davis, T.K., Al, and I sat back in our seat.

"I've decided to let you out early seeming that the high school got out early too," Mrs. Shing said.

"Really?" a boy asked.

"Yes, leave now before I change my mind," she told us.

Everyone ran out the door.

"Walk!" she yelled at us.

"Now what?" Davis asked as we walked outside the school building.

"Well, if the high school students got out, lets go find them!" I smiled.

"I have to go find Danny. I'll talk to you guys later," Al told us.

"You can come with us," T.K. offered.

"I was just going to call him," Al said as she pulled out a cell phone.

"That works even better," Davis laughed.

"You guys can call your friends afterwards if you would like," she decided.

"Thanks," T.K. smiled.

"Hello?…Danny, it's Al…I got out of school early…Meet me outside my school…Thanks, I'll see you in a couple of minutes," Al was on her phone.

"Done?" Davis asked.

"Here," she offered Davis the phone.

"Thanks Al," Davis took the phone and handed it to me.

"Does Kari have to do everything for you?" Al wondered.

"No, I don't want to talk to Izzy," Davis smiled.

"Hey Izzy, it's Kari!" I was on the phone.

"Oh, hey Kari. Where are you? Why are you on the phone? Did you skip school?" Izzy asked.

"No, no! I'm on my friend Al's cell phone. We got out of school early. Bring everyone to our school. We'll meet here," I decided.

"Oh, ok. Um, is Al a new guy friend?"

"Izzy! Al is short for Allison! I can't believe you sometimes."

"Sorry, we better get going. Be there soon Kari," Izzy hung up his phone.

"See you," I did the same.

"He thought I was a guy! Thanks," Al smiled.

"They'll be here soon," I told everyone.

"Hey! There's Danny!" Al waved to her brother.

"Hey Al, how was school?" Danny questioned.

"Rather fun!" Al smiled and looked at us.

"Already got some friends? Good for you," he said.

"Hi, I'm Kari Kamiya," I smiled at him.

"And I'm Davis Motomiya," Davis said.

"My name is T.K. Takaishi," T.K. introduced himself.

"Kamiya…Are you Tai's little sister?" Danny asked me.

"Yes," I started to blush.

"Tai was in my 8th grade class…But we called him Taichi Kamiya the whole year because he talked a lot," Danny explained.

"Then, you must know Izzy Izumi," I guessed.

"Yeah, I know him. We had to call him Koushiro Izumi because of Tai. Tai got a lot of people in trouble. I was amazed he passed the class!" he laughed.

"Who else was in your class?" T.K. asked.

"Well…We had Sora Takenouchi, she was a cutie! There was Matt Ishida, the rock star. I think the ones I named were the trouble makers," Danny told us.

"Did you have a girl named Jennifer in your class?" I questioned.

"Jenny? She was in my class for half of the year, but she was put in a different class after something happened," Danny looked at the ground.

"Did you know what she did to Izzy that year?" I wondered.

"Ah, yes…That jerk of a girl asked Izzy out to take advantage of him. It was shameful to do that to Izzy. I didn't know she was like that, she was pretty nice when I went out with her. That's why she had to go into a different class, when I broke up with her. She kind of became crazy," Danny explained.

"Wow…That's pretty weird," Al said.

"Kari! Who are you talking to!" Tai yelled at me.

"Is that Taichi?" Danny laughed.

"Kari, who are these people?" Tai demanded.

"You don't remember me? It's Danny Lee," Danny smiled.

"As in Daniel Lee?" Tai asked.

"It was your fault I was called that the whole year," he complained.

"Ok, then who's the girl?" Tai requested.

"My name is Allison Amber, Al for short. I'm Danny's sister," Al smiled.

"You have a sister?" Tai was confused.

"Yeah, she just moved here. She lived in a different town with my mother. It was because of a divorce. I went with my dad and stayed here, and Al left with my mom," Danny explained.

"Sounds a lot like T.K. and Matt," Tai pointed out.

"Matt, as in Yamato Ishida? Rock star Matt?" Danny wondered.

"Yeah," I answered for Tai.

"Where are the others anyways? I wanted to talk to Yolei," T.K. said.

"They walk slow, give them another minute," Tai told us.

"Are you friends with Sora still? I would love to see her again. She was a cutie in the 8th grade. I would like to see her sweet smile again," Danny smiled.

"Sora is more than my friend!" Tai yelled.

"You and Sora are going out! That's hard to believe seeming that you always got her mad. If she was to go out with anyone from 8th grade, I would have thought Matt! They really hit it off," Danny laughed.

"Well, Sora is with me! Matt has his own girlfriend…And Sora never liked Matt. She always liked me, me, and did I mention me?" Tai was irritated.

"Sorry Taichi! Gosh, you're sure into yourself," Danny said.

Al, T.K., Davis, and I were laughing at all of this.

I saw Izzy and the others walking up towards us.

"What's so funny?" Izzy questioned.

I pointed at Danny and Tai.

"Is that Daniel Lee!" Sora asked.

"Yeah, that's Danny, that's my brother," Al smiled.

"Oh my gosh!" Sora walked over to him.

"Where is Cody?" Yolei asked us.

"Oh no! We never looked for him!" I was shocked.

"That's ok, T.K. and I will go look for him," Yolei smiled as they walked away.

"How was the first day of school?" Mimi asked.

"Lets just say you were very lucky to be in America for the 8th grade," I smiled.

"That bad?" Izzy laughed.

"I think we can all agree that the best part was getting out of there," Al said.

"And, who's this?" Mimi questioned.

"My name's Al, that's short for Allison," she smiled.

"Al? Isn't that a guy's name?" Mimi looked puzzled.

"It was the nickname my brother, Danny, gave me," she explained.

"You guys were lucky to get out early. I know I hated 8th grade with Mrs. Shing. I also hated being called Koushiro Izumi the whole year," Izzy said.

"Wasn't that the year that Jennifer did that terrible stuff to you?" Mimi questioned.

"I almost forgot about her. I haven't talked to her or about her for the past year. It feels weird for you to bring her up," Izzy looked at Mimi.

"Sorry, I didn't know it was a subject you didn't want to talk about," Mimi frowned.

"It's ok Mimi! It's just- Huh?" Izzy's phone started to ring.

"Answer it Izzy!" I yelled.

"Hello?…Joe?…Yeah…By the middle school…Yeah, you can bring Lilly…Bye," Izzy hung up.

"What was that about?" Davis wondered.

"Joe and Lilly will be stopping by. They don't start school until tomorrow," Izzy replied.

"Ah!" I heard yelling in the distance.

"Did anyone else hear that yelling?" I asked.

"It sounded like Sidney," Izzy said.

"It is Sidney!" Davis pointed.

Sidney was running away from a bunch of dogs. "Ah!"

"Shouldn't we help her?" I asked.

"Come on, I know how to stop those stupid dogs," Al took my arm and ran to where the dogs were.

"Ah!" Sidney ran behind me.

"Stop!" Al yelled at the dogs.

The dogs stopped dead in their tracks.

"They take good command," I said.

"Go!" Al pointed in the other direction and the dogs left.

"Oh, thank you," Sidney smiled.

"No problem; why were they chasing you?" Al asked.

"I don't know. I was just walking from the high school, and they started to chase me," Sidney said.

"Well, I can tell that you had a nice first day," I smiled.

"Oh, shut up!" Sidney frowned.

"Come on the others are over here," I started to walk away.

"Hold up! Who's the new girl?"

"Call me Al, that's short for Allison," Al smiled.

"Now, we can go," Sidney walked.

"Hey Sidney," Matt smiled as we walked up.

"You look horrible Sid. What happened?" Tai asked.

"I was getting chased by dog!" Sidney yelled.

"Come on. I'll show you to the bathroom," Matt offered.

"No, I'll be fine, thanks to Kari's new friend," Sidney decided.

"It was nothing. I did some dog training when I was ten," Al told us.

"And, who's this guy?" Sidney asked pointing at Danny.

"My name is Daniel Lee, but most people just call me Danny. And, what is your name?" he smiled.

"My name is Sidney. It is a pleasure to meet you," Sidney blushed.

"Well, it's nice to meet you. Tai sure has a lot of cute friends," Danny told her.

"Yeah, yeah, back off!" Matt yelled.

"Oh, I'm sorry, do you already have a boyfriend? I shouldn't have been flirting in the first place. It's a bad habit of mine!" Danny laughed.

"Yeah, she has a boyfriend…And it's me!" Matt shouted.

"I said sorry! I think being a rock star got to your head!" Danny was yelling now.

"Well, don't be flirting with my girl!"

"I didn't know she was yours!"

"I never did like you!"

"I wouldn't even be talking Yamato!"

"Don't even try to act smart Daniel Lee!"

"Guys! Cut it out!" Sidney screamed.

"Sorry Sidney. You're right, I shouldn't being arguing with this bonehead," Matt agreed.

"At least I'm not a hothead!" Danny said.

"I think you need a time out Danny!" Al walked over to him.

"I'm the older brother, you shouldn't be telling me what to do," Danny complained.

"Oh, you complain to much!" she said.

"Do you fight a lot with your brother?" I asked Al.

"Not really, Danny can be a real…Um…Jerk around other people sometimes," Al explained.

"Come on Al, we better get home. Mom wanted you to come right home after school," Danny said.

"I better get going. Tell T.K. that I said bye. See you tomorrow!" Al smiled as they left.

"Does anyone know when Ken gets out of school?" I asked.

"I believe they have a normal school day. I would just call and ask," Izzy threw me his cell phone.

"Call who?"

"His cell phone! Or his parents," Izzy smiled.

"I'll go with the first option," I decided.

Izzy nodded his head.

I dialed the number. After five rings, I decided to give up.

"I think you'll need to go to option two," Izzy laughed.

I dialed Ken's home number.

"Hello?" Ken's mother answered.

"Hello Mrs. Ichijouji, it's Kari," I said.

"Hello Kari. Ken isn't home yet."

"I figured that out when he didn't answer his cell phone. I was wondering if you could tell me when he would be home."

"He gets out of school at 3PM. I'm not that sure when he'll be home though. He's been hanging out with Jordan a lot."

"Well…I'll call his cell at three. When he gets home, could you tell him to give me a call?"

"Sure, does he have your number?"

"Yeah, and if he doesn't reach me there, tell him to try Izzy's cell phone," I decided.

"I'll do that Kari, bye," she hung up the phone.

I walked over to Izzy and the others.

"How did it go?" Izzy asked me.

"He gets out of school at three, I'll call his cell phone then. If I don't reach him, Ken's mom will ask him to call me when he gets home," I explained.

"He wants us to come over, yet he doesn't even know when he's going to be home," Davis said.

I saw Yolei, T.K., Cody, and Liz walking out of the school.

"Ken's pretty busy," I smiled.

"What? With Jordan?" Davis laughed.

"Hey guys!" Cody waved to us.

"Hi Cody, about time you got here," I said.

"Sorry, I didn't know the 7th grade was going to be so crazy."

"It isn't that bad," Davis smiled.

"Now, wait until 8th grade," I laughed.

"I didn't like the sound of that," Cody said.

"Don't worry, Cody is a smart guy, he won't talk when the teacher is talking," Izzy told us.

"You have Mrs. Shing!" Yolei started to laugh.

"It isn't that funny," T.K. said.

"With the way Davis talks, you'll be called by your full names before next week!" she smiled.

"Maybe we'll just tape his mouth shut," T.K. decided.

"That's real nice. How about you guys try not talking," Izzy thought.

"Davis, not talking, that's funny," T.K. smiled.

"It just takes patients," Liz jumped in.

"Davis isn't a patient person," Yolei said.

"Then, maybe you should try the tape," Liz giggled.

"Did you ever read that piece of paper from Tai?" Izzy asked me.

"I'm being very forgetful today," I said as I took the paper out of my pocket.

I looked at the piece of paper.

Kari,

I just remembered that your teacher is going to be Mrs. Shing. What ever you do, don't mention my name or our relationship! I was a troublemaker in 8th grade. If she knew we were related, she'll be really hard on you. Have fun!

Tai

"Now he warns me," I handed the piece of paper to Izzy.

"I blew that for you," Izzy frowned.

"I'll manage," I smiled.

"I feel sorry for you guys, I'm glad all of my friends are younger and older than me," Yolei said.

"Thank you for your sympathy," Davis said sarcastically.

"That was a big word for you," Yolei smiled.

"Davis was never the smartest, but we should give him a little credit," I told them.

"Kari, you're talking about a guy that couldn't even spell T.K.," T.K. reminded me.

"And don't forget the thing about him thinking the date was a fraction," Cody remembered.

"Cody, be nice, even the stupidest people have their time…Not that I'm calling Davis stupid or anything," Liz smiled.

"Was that a compliment?" Davis asked.

"Uh, yes," she said.

"Look who's coming," Cody softly said as he pointed at K.C. and Terry.

"You say that in a bad way," I said.

Cody looked angry.

"Things change Cody, people can't always be the way you want them to be," Izzy told him.

"I will never forget that day she broke my heart. Everyone got what they wanted, but I didn't. You got Mimi, Kari got her I love you. I was left in the dark! My world was crushed. She didn't even care about what she had done. She thought I was fine. She was wrong!" Cody yelled.

"It will be ok," Liz tried to comfort him.

"Hey Cody," K.C. said as she walked to us.

"Hi," Cody coldly said.

"How have things been going?" she questioned.

"Good, real good," Cody smiled.

"You don't look very good. What's wrong?" K.C. wondered.

"Nothing is wrong K.C., I am perfectly fine!" he snapped.

"It's ok to cry once in a while, it's ok to show your feelings," I whispered to him.

"We better get going K.C. Mom will want us right home," Terry said.

"Bye Cody," K.C. started to walk away.

"Bye person who didn't care that she broke my heart," Cody said.

Terry turned around and walked back towards us.

"Cody, I know my sister broke your heart, but you need to get over it. You're with someone else, and I doubt she wants to hear about a girl who broke your heart. Get over it, you can't get K.C., and you know you don't want her," Terry told Cody.

"How do you know what I want?" Cody questioned.

"It's been a year since those actions I made. I've changed myself, I'm much smarter. Get over K.C., and get back to reality," she started to walk away.

"You know she's right," I said.

"I'm sorry about that," Cody frowned.

"You have nothing to be sorry about Cody. We need to have an honest relationship," Liz smiled.

"Right," he agreed.

"The funny thing is, Terry really has changed," Izzy told us.

"You'd never think that was possible," I smiled.

"It is funny!" Cody started to laugh.

"See, we got him to laugh," Liz pointed out.

"You're great Liz!" Cody started to blush.

"I better get home though, see you guys later," she decided.

"I'll walk you home if you want me to," Cody offered.

Liz nodded her head and smiled.

They walked off.

"I have to talk to Mimi, see you," Izzy walked off.

"Oh, T.K. I have to show you something, come on," Yolei told him.

"Ok, sure," T.K. said as he followed her.


	2. Chapter 2

"Don't tell me you're leaving too," I smiled at Davis.

"Why would I do that? I'm with my most favorite person in the world…and the best part of all is, we're all by ourselves," Davis said.

"You always know what to say Davis. When it's just you and me, you say the sweetest things."

"It's easier when it's just you and me. You never care if I mess something up."

"Why should I?"

"I don't know. Maybe because I mess up a lot of things."

"We learn from our mistakes."

"I don't feel like I've learned anything."

"That's ok, sometimes you don't learn anything," I smiled.

"It sure is bright," Davis said.

"The sun's light makes your eyes glow beautifully."

"I think it's cute how you always compliment my eyes."

"Fine, I won't. Your goggles have a nice glare in the light."

"Very funny."

"I think it was."

"Remind me again why I love you."

"Because I was your first love, and you've liked me since we were ten, and I like you."

"I always thought it was because you were a good kisser."

"Oh, I see how it is," I smiled as I turned my back to him.

"Aww, you know I love you for more than that," Davis turned me around.

"Yeah, I do," I smiled.

"Kari, you can be so funny."

I looked into his eyes and didn't say anything, I just smiled.

"Oh, I understand what you want," Davis said as he softly kissed me on the lips.

I backed away and started to laugh.

"I'm that bad?" he asked.

"No, it's just, that tickled!" I smiled.

"So, I am bad," Davis thought.

"I never said that."

"Yes you did."

"I said it tickled."

"Great, now my kisses tickle!"

I took his hands and started to blush.

"What are you doing?" Davis asked.

"Let me lead," I said as I slowly let my lips touch his.

Davis backed away. "Oh, I see how it is. I'm not good enough to lead."

"I never said that. You're a great leader, but sometimes you have to let someone else shine," I said.

"You can shine with me," Davis told me.

"Want to try again?" I asked him.

"We'll both lead this time," Davis decided.

We started to lean close to each other. Right when are mouths were about to touch, Tai started to call for us. "Kari, Davis! Come on, we're leaving!"

"The perfect moment ruined," Davis frowned.

"The perfect kiss was already given to me, a year ago," I smiled.

"I wonder by who."

"This guy named Davis, he's kind of cute, and funny, and I love him to death."

"He must be pretty lucky to have a girl like you."

"Come on," I took Davis's hand and walked over to the others.

"We need to get home," Tai told me.

"Can't you just call Mom and tell her we'll be home late?" I asked.

"I could, but I'm not."

"I have other things I need to do. Tell her I'll be home later."

"You're coming home, and telling her yourself," Tai said.

"But Tai!" I complained.

"What is so important?" he wondered.

"I have to go over to Ken's today. You understand, right?" I smiled.

"I'll tell her that you'll be home later," Tai decided.

"Thank you Tai," I smiled.

"Shouldn't you be going?" Tai questioned.

"Oh, no, Ken doesn't get out of school until three," I smiled.

"Kari!" Tai yelled as he walked away.

"See you later!" I called to him.

"Whatever," he said back.

"Hey, wait up Tai!" I saw Sora running up to him.

"Call Mom," Tai told me as Sora and him walked off.

"I always have to call her," I complained.

"Kari! Look at this!" Yolei ran over to me.

"What is it?" I asked.

"T.K. gave it to me," Yolei said.

I looked at the letter.

Yolei,

With you in high school, I know things are going to be difficult. We'll be able to make it through, right? I'll understand if you don't want to go out with me, so you'll be free. It's all up to you. I know you don't want to hear this. If you find someone else, don't worry about me, I can handle another broken heart.

T.K.

"Wow, what are you going to do?" I questioned.

"I hope he knows I'm only for him. What if he wants to break up with me? Maybe T.K. is telling me that it's ok for me to break up with him, because he doesn't want me anymore. I wasn't ever planning to break up with him," Yolei said.

"Yolei, calm down. I'll tell you if I see any signs of him wanting to break up," I told her.

"Thanks Kari!" Yolei smiled.

"Where is T.K. anyways?" I wondered.

"He went to the computer lab, said something about checking his mail," she said.

"Oh! I better do that myself! I'll get something out of him too," I decided.

"Ok, I'll keep Davis busy for you," Yolei smiled.

I walked into the school and went to the computer lab.

"Hey T.K., aren't you lonely up here by yourself?" I asked.

"I was just reading some things and remembering old memories," he told me.

"I came up here to check my e-mails," I informed T.K.

"Oh, want me to leave?" T.K. questioned.

"Of course not!" I said as I started to type on the computer.

I looked at the computer screen, my eyes lit up.

"What, did Davis send you random love letters?" T.K. joked.

"No, Willis e-mailed me," I smiled.

"That's great," T.K. said.

"Come here, read it!" I told him.

"Ok, ok," he leaned over and read the e-mail.

Dear Kari,

Hey! It's been a year since all that stuff happened in Japan…A whole year. I just wanted to say hi. We haven't talked in awhile. I'm doing great. Though, I did start 8th grade. So, how are you doing? What about Davis? You still with him? I'm still with Hanna…She's great. I hope I can come visit you guys soon. I like it in Japan better than America. I better let you go.

Love, Willis

"It was nice to hear from him," I said.

"Love Willis, that's funny," T.K. laughed.

"What is so funny about that?" I demanded.

"I don't know, it sounds weird."

"Oh, but if it was love Davis, it would be ok."

"I never said that."

"Don't you have something to do?"

"Not that I know of."

"What were you thinking about when I came in?" I asked.

"I was just remembering the past year," T.K. told me.

"Like what?"

"I was remembering what happened in the hall between us."

"Oh, that."

"That moment just flashed through my mind over and over again."

"It's kind of weird remembering that."

"But the part I remember the best is when you said you loved me."

"That will always be in my memory…"

_"T.K., I love you with all my heart!" That didn't end up coming out right._

_"What?" T.K. was confused by my words._

_"That came out wrong," I tried to explain._

_He just stared at the ground. _

_Why did I tell him I loved him with all my heart? I didn't love him; Davis is the one I love. Was our friendship really dying? It was never meant to end. I do love T.K., as if he was my brother…He was my first friend other then Tai._

_"I meant it as if you were my brother…T.K., you were my first friend other then Tai. I don't love you as if you were my boyfriend, more as a friend that I can always trust. I don't want to lose you. I never want to see our friendship die; it's what made me strong!" I was scared._

_T.K. didn't say anything again. He just stared at my eyes, as if he was trying to read my thoughts._

_"Your eyes…They glow in the light, just like Davis's. They are beautiful," I said out loud._

_"Kari? Who are you? You aren't the girl I know, something is wrong," T.K. told me._

_"Something is wrong; my heart is hurt, as if torn in half between two people. T.K., there will always be a place for you in my heart, and I think it just grew to the same size as Davis's part. I'm noticing things about you that I never saw before. Your eyes, your smile, your laugh, they seem so different now."_

_"Kari, what are you trying to say?"_

_"This is all wrong! This shouldn't be happening! I shouldn't be thinking this way; I have no feelings for you, no more than the love of friendship!" I was in pain, my heart ached._

_"This is wrong…You shouldn't be here, or maybe I shouldn't be here. This is your spot, the spot for you and Davis. It isn't safe in this spot. Where I stand is where Davis stood when he gave you that kiss, when I walked out on you. My feelings for you will always burn, but this isn't right. I would give anything to get a kiss from you, but not when you are with Davis, not when it feels so wrong," he said._

_I looked away, then I looked back. What I saw wasn't there, T.K. was right. I was seeing things that weren't there. I was seeing Davis when it was T.K. I was looking at. _

_"You shouldn't be sorry, I should be. Thank you for telling me how you feel, but you will never lose me. So, I'm sorry for the trouble I put you through…You have nothing to be sorry for. You can't control your heart, or your head. It's hard to figure out which one is right. Sometimes you have to guess. If you ever need help, just ask. I will never leave you; our friendship will always be safe. Friends forever, that is what we'll be, rough times will come, but we have to be strong, and get past those points. We must face our journey, we have long to go, our lives are short, the memories will last, if we believe this, the times we have will never be part of the past," I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek._

_T.K. placed his hand on his cheek. "What was that for?"_

_"A kiss to seal our friendship…But that is the only one you get. Keep it locked in your heart, don't tell a soul. I'll keep your secret, it will never be told," I told him. _

_"Did you read that out of a book? Never mind…I know where we stand, our friendship will last…That's if we want it to," he said._

_I smiled a sweet smile. T.K. opened the door, and we went back into the stage room._

"Yeah, that was an important part of our friendship," T.K. smiled.

"It was, but now it's just a memory," I agreed.

"So, tell me again how many boys you've kissed."

"Lets see, we have Davis, you, Willis, and Ken. I've kissed Tai on the cheek, but he's my brother."

"You've kissed Willis and Ken! Where was I?"

"It was last year, when he was visiting. When Tai got hit by the car, I was very sad, I kissed Willis on the lips after he kissed me on the head. Ken was…In the Dark World both times."

"You haven't talked about that place in forever."

I held the hand that once had the cut on the palm.

"What's wrong Kari?" T.K. asked me.

"It's just…It feels weird bringing that place up. I haven't been there in what seems like forever. Yet, I still feel like it's lurking inside me. I still feel the pain of the cut. I guess some things never go away. I just wish this feeling would," I explained.

"I wish I could help; I wish I knew how you feel. I'll never understand this feeling because I've never been there before. I hope that one day you'll be free from the feeling you have."

"Thank you T.K.; for one that has no clue about what I'm going through, you sure do know how to make me feel better."

"That's what friends are for. Now, shouldn't we get back to the others?"

"I do have a questioned for you before we leave."

"What?"

"Do you want to break up with Yolei?"

"Uh, she showed you the note, didn't she?"

"Yeah…I would like an answer."

"It's not that I want to, I have a feeling she wants to."

"What about Al?"

"What about her?"

"You were flirting with her during class."

"I was?"

"Maybe it was because she was flirting with you."

"Yeah, that was it."

"Or maybe it's because you have so much in common."

"Kari."

"What?"

"Al is cool and all, but I love Yolei. You helped me to know that. I'm not going to break her heart, not for Al. You showed me what I needed to do. I was giving Yolei the option to break up with me because I thought she wanted to. I thought maybe she would want to be free because we are in two different schools. I just thought she didn't want me anymore," T.K. explained.

"Why would you say that she didn't want you?" I questioned.

"Yolei just doesn't seem interested in me anymore. I mean, we haven't really hung out in the past month. Maybe I'm just imagining it all. She just never wants to talk…And when we went to look for Cody, yeah, that wasn't so smart," he told me.

"What happened?"

"We got in an argument."

"About what?"

"Our relationship, about what has been going on."

I didn't say anything. I decided we should go. I walked over to the door and opened it.

"Have you ever felt that way? Unsure of your love?" T.K. asked me.

"With Willis, when I kissed him on the lips. Sometimes with Ken. Even with us out in the hallway I was unsure. It was my heart playing a game. It seems to like to do that. I'm pretty mixed up, I'm just starting to get organized. When Willis left for America, that's when I found out the truth. I didn't like Willis or Ken the way I liked Davis. I loved Davis because he's always there to protect me. He made me know my reason in life. He always understood. Most important, he never cared about how different I was. He just cared about my feelings, and how I was doing. I guess you can say that I'm just starting to understand life itself," I explained.

"So, it isn't always easy to find what you're looking for?"

"Nothing is ever easy. I thought it was going to be easy for Davis and me right away, but that wasn't what happened. I discovered that I had to find the reason why I wanted him. It took me awhile to figure it out. Sure, I liked other guys, but they could never be Davis. I decided that Davis needed me, to bring the better out of him, to show how he is smart, he just doesn't show it."

"Right…You had to make a decision, just like I have to make one myself. It's not going to be easy, but I have to choose. I have to figure out what is right. Thanks Kari."

"I don't know what I did, but you're welcome," I smiled.

"You told me what I need to do. You're being a great friend in my time of need…Unlike I was. I was a terrible friend when you needed me. I blurted out your secret," T.K. told me.

"So you made a mistake, so have I. Everyone does it, you can't help it," I said.

"I just have to be myself. I'll try the best I can. And, I promise, I won't tell anymore of your secrets. That's if you have anymore," he smiled.

"Well, I told you about the Dark World, me liking Davis, my depression…I don't think there is anything else," I opened the door.

"Then we should get going. I don't want Yolei thinking we're doing something bad," T.K. walked out the door and ran down the hallway.

"Mr. Takaishi, no running, even if it after school hours," Mrs. Shing was still at school.

"Right, come on Kari!" he yelled for me.

"Coming!" I shouted as I ran over to him, that was when I caught sight of Mrs. Shing.

"You're going to be as bad as Taichi, aren't you?" she asked me.

"No, I'm rather different!" I smiled as I shoved T.K. down the stairs.

"I have a feeling you are going to be."

"No, I have more patients!" I called to her.

"Hikari Kamiya and Takeru Takaishi! Get up here right now!" Mrs. Shing told us.

We slowly walked back up the steps.

"I will not stand for this behavior from any of my students. I will not stand for the attitudes from you Hikari. You should both know that there is no running in the hallways. I had a feeling you were going to be a troublemaker right when I figured out who your brother was. If you ever want respect from me, you better straighten up your act!"

"It's not an act," I coldly said.

"And my brother was in your class too, but you seem to like to gang up on Kari. What has she ever done to you? Kari is different from Tai, she is sweet and kind! She isn't that talkative either. You just need to learn who she is before you go off and make assumptions about her!" T.K. yelled.

"You are my first Takaishi…And I'm not liking the fact that I have you," Mrs. Shing said.

"How about an Ishida?" he questioned.

"Yamato Ishida, yes, the rock star. How funny he was to be brought up."

"What? You going to treat T.K. differently because his brother was in your class too?" I asked.

"I will give you both another chance…But I don't want your relationship to interfere with your school work. And I don't want you guys passing love notes either, save it for after school. I will have nothing of that in my classroom," Mrs. Shing told us.

"T.K. and me? We're just really good friends. Anyways, I have a boyfriend…And it's not T.K., I can promise you that," I laughed.

"Yeah, and my girlfriend is in a different school…In a different grade!" T.K. smiled.

"Oh, and I'm assuming you and Mr. Motomiya are friends, give him this for me," she handed me a piece of paper with 'Davis Motomiya' in bolded lettering on it.

"I'll give it to him," I smiled.

"Good," Mrs. Shing walked away.

"I'm Mrs. Shing and I _love_ ruining my students' lives!" T.K. mocked Mrs. Shing.

"I think she might be worse than the Dark World!" I laughed.

"There is a new evil in town, and _it_ goes by the name of Mrs. Shing."

"Not that we are truly sure she is a she!"

"I wonder if Davis got in trouble already," T.K. smiled.

"The worse thing he has ever done was breaking that window when he was playing soccer indoors."

"Man, I wish I could have seen that."

"Come on, the faster we get down to Davis, the faster we'll get to see what this note is about," I smiled as I stuck the piece of paper in my pocket.

"I'll race you," he told me.

"You're on!" I laughed.

"Go!" T.K. yelled as we ran down the stairs.

"Beat you!" I smiled when we reached Davis.

"Next time…I'll…Get…You," T.K. gasped.

"You ok T.K.?" Davis wondered.

"Yeah, I'm just out of breath," he said.

"Oh, Davis, Mrs. Shing wanted me to give you this," I pulled the piece of paper out of my pocket.

"I'm already in trouble! Great," Davis laughed as he unfolded the paper.

I looked at him. His smiled quickly turned into a frown.

"What is it Davis?" I was concerned.

"I have detention for the next week," Davis said as he handed me the paper.

"What? For what?" I was outraged.

"It doesn't say. All it says is for the next week I have detention after school."

"That's stupid," T.K. said.

"If she gave you detention for no reason, who knows what she's going to do to me and T.K. for running in the hallway. And I was talking back at her," I mentioned.

"Bright one Kari, never give a teacher an attitude," Davis smiled.

"I don't blame Kari! Mrs. Shing was ganging up on her just because Tai is her brother," T.K. backed me up.

"Where is Tai anyways?" I asked.

"He left with Sora, don't you remember?" Davis asked.

"Right!" I smiled.

"And I thought I was forgetful."

"T.K., you better go talk to Yolei, you really scared her," I whispered to him.

"Ok, I'm ready," T.K. walked away.

"Hmm, looks like we're alone again," Davis smiled.

"It does look a little familiar," I agreed.

"Where were we again?" he questioned.

"I think it was right here," I said as I put my hand on his cheek and slowly leaned in. Davis then leaned in. Our lips gently touched the others. After a minute, I slowly pulled away. He did the same.

"Oh, that's where we were," Davis grinned.

I smiled.

"So, tell me more about this perfect kiss," he requested.

"Our first real kiss was the best kiss, but not the perfect kiss. The perfect kiss was when you kissed me after Willis left," I told him.

"I miss that guy," Davis smiled.

"He e-mailed me. Said that he wants to come back to Japan soon."

"Really? For a guy that doesn't know Japanese, Willis sure does like it here!"

"No, he just has friends here that he can't get anywhere else."

"Yeah, he does have some good friends…And I don't think he'll ever find someone as amazing as you or as honest as Cody."

"And I don't think Willis will ever have a best friend like you," I smiled.

"Aww, you really think I'm a good friend?" Davis asked me.

"Why else would I pick you?" I countered.

I looked around, I saw Izzy walking over here.

"Ken called, he wants you to be at his house for 3 if it was possible," Izzy told me.

"At 3? Everyone?" I questioned.

"You, Davis, T.K., Yolei, and Cody," he said.

"We'll have to go if we can get Cody away from Liz," Davis smiled.

"Ken said that you could bring Liz with you because he'll have Jordan with him," Izzy informed us.

"Jordan is always there! I mean come on, does he ever have time for his guy friends?" Davis asked.

"Like you have any time," Izzy mumbled.

"I have lots of time! I don't ruin a good friendship just because I have a girlfriend that I love with all my heart. I know how to equally spread out my time for everyone. Unlike Ken!" Davis yelled.

"Stop complaining Davis. We spend just as much time with each other as Ken does with Jordan," I told him.

"We never spend much time together! When was the last time we had a date?" he asked me.

"A month ago, I think," I replied.

"They go out every day. I lost my soccer buddy," Davis frowned.

"I know, but you need to be concerned for other people too. What if he thinks he's losing his friendship with you because of me? Look at it from Ken's view too," I told Davis.

"I have a suggestion…You guys should leave now and get to Ken's. You only have 30 minutes and it takes 15 minutes on the sub, and another 15 to get to his apartment," Izzy smiled.

"Right, we better get the others," Davis agreed.

"I'll get Yolei and T.K.," I decided.

"Fine, I'll look for Cody," Davis said.

We left Izzy standing there.

The last time I saw Yolei and T.K., they were by the fence. I slowly walked over there. I heard talking and I stopped.

"I never said that!" I heard T.K. yell.

"Then why would you tell me it was ok to break up with you? Why would I want to? Gosh T.K., I thought you understood me. I wouldn't have told you I loved you if I didn't," Yolei told him.

"I thought you would want someone older, someone in your school."

"Who was that Al girl anyways? I never really got to meet her."

"Kari, Davis, and I met her in school today."

"Do you like her?" Yolei questioned.

"As a friend," T.K. said.

"You want me to break up with you so I won't be heart broken because you want Al to be your girlfriend!" Yolei exclaimed.

"She's just my friend! Sure, we have a lot in common, but I don't like her as anything more than a friend. Don't you trust me. I would never do that to you!"

I started to walk over like I heard nothing.

"I do trust-" Yolei stopped when she saw me.

"Sorry about breaking your conversation. Ken wanted us to come over to his for 3. That means we have to leave now," I explained.

"Ok, where is Davis?" Yolei asked.

"He went to find Cody," I told her.

"Lets go find him, Davis will need some help," she smiled.

Yolei started to walk off, I began to follow her, T.K. held me back.

I turned around and stared at T.K.

"You were listening to us," he told me.

_How did he know? What should I do now?_ I thought.

"I heard you come up, and I saw your shoes," T.K. smiled.

I looked at the ground and frowned. "Sorry."

"No need to be, but you could have walked right in on us…So I didn't have to have that argument. Thanks for coming when you did anyways," he said.

"You aren't mad?" I asked.

"I have no reason to be."

"I'm sorry about what's going on with you and Yolei."

"It's no problem, I'm handling it."

I nodded my head and slightly smiled.

"Lets go," T.K. decided.

"Are you sure you're going to be ok?" I questioned.

"Yeah…Oh, I forgot my backpack in the computer lab," he said.

"Come on, lets get it," I told him.

"But what about the others?"

"We'll pass them when we get to the school doors."

"Ok."

We walked passed Davis, Yolei, and Cody.

"We'll catch the next sub, ok?" I wondered.

"Ok guys, just don't take too long," Cody said.

"We won't!" T.K. waved as we walked into the building.

We opened the door to the computer lab and looked in.

"Here it is," T.K. smiled as he picked up his backpack.

"You've got mail!" the computer I was on repeated over and over again.

"Go ahead and check it," T.K. told me.

I opened the e-mail and read it.

Kari,

T.K. is really getting on my nerves. I mean, he sounds like he wants me to break up with him because he wants someone else. I'm just so confused. He just needs to make up his mind.

Yolei

"What was it?" T.K. wondered.

"Nothing…It was nothing," I lied. "Lets go!"

"Ok Kari, if you say so," he said as he opened the door.

We slowly closed the door behind us and saw Mrs. Shing walking down the hall.

"Does she live in this school?" T.K. whispered.

"Kari, T.K., you are still at school, why?" Mrs. Shing asked.

"Forgot my backpack!" T.K. smiled.

"That reminds me, these are for you two," she handed us both a piece of paper with are names written in bold letters on the front.

"What's this?" I questioned.

"Your detention slip," Mrs. Shing coldly said.

"Detention! What, why?" T.K. demanded.

"Running in the hallway, giving me an attitude."

"Why did you give Davis detention? He didn't do anything," I requested.

"Talking when I was talking."

I started to tense up.

"Well, we would love to stay and chat, but we have to get going," T.K. put his hand on my shoulder to tell me to calm down.

"Takeru, keep your hands off of other people," Mrs. Shing looked at T.K.'s hand on my shoulder.

T.K. slowly removed his hand from my shoulder and took my hand. "Lets go."

T.K. started to walk off.

"Takeru Takaishi!" Mrs. Shing called for him.

"We don't have time to chat, I already told you that!" he yelled to her.

We ran to the subway station.

"I don't think she likes us," I told T.K.

"Who, Mrs. Shing? I _know _she doesn't like us," he smiled.

"Ok, here's your ticket," I handed T.K. a ticket.

"Oh, I was going to buy my own," he offered me his money.

"Keep it, I don't want your money," I said.

"Thanks Kari," T.K shoved the money back in his pocket.

"Hurry T.K., here comes the sub!" I pulled on T.K.'s arm.

"I'm coming," he followed me.

We ran to the sub. It stopped, and we jumped on.

T.K. took a seat. There was a seat next to him, but I decided to stand.

I stared out the window of the sub.

"What's wrong?" T.K. asked me.

"Huh?"

"What's wrong Kari?" he asked again.

"Oh, nothing," I shook my head.

"You seem distracted."

I sat next to T.K. "Are you sure you're ok with Yolei?"

"Yeah," he looked at his shoes.

"I'm sorry about all of this."

"You have no reason to be sorry. I told Yolei she could break up with me for a reason. I thought she didn't want me anymore. I guess I was a little unsure about our relationship," T.K. explained.

"I'm still sorry," I said.

"Enough about me…What about you and Davis?" T.K. questioned.

"What about us?" I countered.

"How is your relationship going?"

"It's been better, it's been worse."

"What do you mean?"

"We have our rough points, but most of the time we get through."

"I see."

"My mom is going to be so mad at me for getting detention on the first day of school," I smiled.

"So is mine. I don't think Matt even got detention in 8th grade," T.K. told me.

"Tai has! He also got it in 7th grade. He didn't behave calmly," I laughed.

"This is our stop, we better get going," T.K. said.

"Right," I agreed.

We stepped out of the sub. We walked quickly to Ken's apartment.

"Kari, T.K., it's about time you got here!" Ken smiled when he saw us.

"Sorry, we met up with our teacher…Again," T.K. told him.

"We even got detention," I said.

"Kari, _you_ got detention? That's hard to believe," Ken laughed.

"Our teacher has issues," T.K. mumbled.

"Oh, come on in, the others are already here," Ken got out of the doorway so we could get in.

We walked into Ken's room. The others we sitting on the floor. There were clothes and books all over Ken's bed.

"Sorry about the mess," Ken frowned.

"It's cleaner than Davis's room," I smiled.

"How would you know Kari? Have you been sneaking out to see Davis in the middle of the night again?" Ken asked me.

"No," I frowned.

"She got out of that habit a couple of months ago," Cody told him.

"What?" I yelled.

"Kari isn't _that_ bad," T.K. smiled.

"So, when were you in Davis's room?" Ken questioned.

"And why were you in his room?" Yolei wondered.

"I've been in Davis's room a bunch of time because I was over at his house," I answered.

"What is your point?" Davis requested.

"It's just weird," Ken muttered.

"Why? I've been in Kari's room lots of times. I've even slept over at her house before!" Davis said.

"Whatever to that. Ken, where's Jordan?" I asked.

"I told her to go home, that I would talk to her later," Ken frowned.

"Why did you do that?" Davis shouted.

Ken softly spoken, "Because you don't like her."

Davis looked at the ground. "I never said I didn't like Jordan."

"You always made it seem like you didn't."

"I wasn't trying to. It's just weird."

"Why is it weird Davis? Do you not want him to be happy like you? Do you not want Ken to have a girlfriend and live life to the fullest? Do you think you're the only one that deserves it?" Cody jumped in.

"Nobody asked you!" Davis growled.

"He's making a point Davis. You've been having a bad attitude about all of this. Calm down. If you want to play soccer, make plans ahead of time. Just relax a little. You don't need to jump to conculsions about any of this. Have you ever wondered what Ken is thinking, how he's feeling?" I smiled.

"Don't worry too much about him Kari. I'll deal with him later," Ken told me.

"So Ken, why did we need to come all the way out here for?" Yolei questioned.

"I got sick of always coming out to you guys. Why should I always have to waste my money?" Ken smiled and started to laugh a little.

"Now we aren't even worth Ken's money," Cody said.

"So, why are we here again?" I questioned.

"Oh, right! I invited you guys over because…We never seem to hang out anymore! Kind of funny, isn't it?" Ken explained.

"Oh boy," Davis frowned and looked at me.

_You can be so stupid sometimes Davis, _I thought.

"Funny, yeah, funny," Davis looked nervous.

"Calm down Davis," I whispered.

"Anyways, I thought we could do something to celebrate the first day of school being over. I thought we could do something fun," Ken smiled.

"Well, what kind of fun things do you have?" T.K. asked.

"Yeah, that's kind of the problem. I don't know what there is to do," Ken laughed.

"Very, very funny," Davis looked around the room.

"Are you ok Davis?" Cody asked.

"Fine, yep, I'm fine," he laughed.

"You're all, um…Pale," Yolei pointed out.

"You sure you're ok?" T.K. questioned.

"Yeah, I'm great! Haven't been better!" Davis smiled weakly.

I walked over to him.

"I'm fine Kari, really," he told me.

"You're not looking so hot," Yolei frowned.

"I'm…Fine…Well…It is…A little…Hot…In here," Davis slowly got out.

"Here, maybe this will help," Ken opened the window.

I put my hand on Davis's forehead. "You're not running a fever."

"Don't surround him; Davis is going to need some air," T.K. told us.

Davis stood up. "See I'm fi-." Davis fell to the ground.

"Davis!" I screamed.

"Ken, what was that screaming?" Ken's mother was knocking on the door.

Ken ran to the door and opened it. "Davis kind of passed out."

I sat next to Davis, I held his hand.

"Give the dear some room. Ken get some water," Mrs. Ichijouji said.

"He'll be fine, just give him some time. Could you leave us alone for a few minutes?" I asked.

"Sure, come on guys," Ken shooed everyone out.

"Thank you," I whispered to him.

"Call me if you need anything," Ken left.

"Davis, wake up, please," I spoke softly.

I took a pillow and placed it under his still head.

_Please Davis, just wake up. I don't like this. Please wake up. Oh, wake up! _I thought.

I looked around the room and back to Davis.

"Open your eyes, show your smile. I want to see your face glow. In moon light, your eyes, they sparkle so bright. A warm touch, a soft smile. A kiss that would wake any death. A fun time isn't a crime. Wake up, don't let go, not tonight. I will be here waiting for you. Open your eyes, show your smile. Don't let go. A kiss that would wake any death. Let me see your eyes shine. Open your eyes. Let me see you wake up from this sleep. A kiss that would wake any death. A tear that would never rest. Open your eyes, look deep inside. Wake up. Don't leave me. A kiss that would wake any death. A tear that won't let you rest. A soft kiss to wake you from your death," I gently kissed Davis on the lips.

Davis turned and slowly opened his eyes. I let go of his hand and started to smile a little.

"Hey there," I said.

"Sorry, I lied," Davis whispered.

"Huh?" I was confused.

"I wasn't fine, I wasn't even close. I was just a little anxious," he explained.

"That's ok."

"I've been doing a lot of lying."

"What?"

"I don't like Jordan! I think she is a stuck-up, two-timing girl!"

"Davis!" I slapped him across the face.

He placed his hand on his cheek. "I deserved that."

"Sorry," I started to cry.

There was knocking on the door.

"Kari, are you ok in there?" Ken questioned.

I didn't say anything. Davis didn't either.

"Kari, if you don't answer me, I'll come in," he said.

I got up and sat on Ken's bed. Ken opened the door. Davis was still laying on the floor, his eyes were closed.

"What was all the yelling in here?" Ken asked me.

"Ask Davis," I crossed my arms.

"Are you ok Kari?" he questioned.

"Huh? Yeah, I've never been better," I smiled.

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Liar!" Davis yelled.

"I'm not the only liar in this room," I crossly said.

"Stop fighting! You're sounding like babies that don't get their way!" Ken shouted.

I quickly stood up. "At least I don't bad mouth people."

"What do you mean?" Ken demanded.

"I'm talking about Davis. You should have heard what he was saying."

"Davis?"

"Uh…It was nothing," Davis was looking nervous again.

"He called Jordan a stuck-up, two-timing girl!" I blurted.

Ken quickly turned to Davis. He then punched him in the face. "Don't ever talk about Jordan that way. You don't even know her!"

Davis quickly hit Ken back.

"Stop it! You're being jerks!" I screamed.

"You're the one who started it," Davis coldly said.

"No Davis, you started it," I shook my head.

There was knocking on the door.

"Come in," Ken quickly said.

The door opened.

"What's with all the commotion?" Yolei asked.

I just pointed at Davis and Ken.

"What did they do _now_?" Cody questioned.

"They're being stupid," I said.

"What did they do?" T.K. repeated Cody.

"Davis said something about Jordan, Ken came in here, I told Ken what Davis said, and now we're in this fight," I explained.

"I can tell there was a fight. Nice black eyes guys," Yolei pointed out.

"Why thank you! Doesn't Ken's look wonderful? I did it myself!" Davis sounded proud of himself.

"My work on Davis is much better though!" Ken said.

I looked away from them. _I could have prevented this, I could have made it stop. Just like a year ago, I'm still the cause of the problems. It's always my fault._

"You're both being jerks! Can't you see what you're doing to Kari? You're tearing her apart! I bet right now she's thinking _she_ started this. You should know by now what all this fighting does to Kari. Don't you remember what happened last year?" Cody shouted.

"It doesn't matter Cody, they will never understand what happened to me," I softly said.

"It does matter Kari," T.K. told me.

"It doesn't matter! I started it all! It's my fault, my fault, my fault! It's always my fault! I'm the cause of everything…I could have stop this from happening!" I yelled.

"Don't say that!" Yolei demanded.

"Ah!" I screamed. I grabbed onto my hand that once had the cut on the palm.

Ken fell to the ground and held his neck. "No!"

Davis grabbed onto his arm. "Err!"

T.K., Cody, and Yolei backed away.

"What's going on?" Yolei questioned.

"Could it be?" Cody wondered.

"This can't be possible!" T.K. was shocked.

I fell to the ground in tears. "The Dark World."

"Kari!" Davis and Ken ran to my side.

"It's all ruined, it's all gone," I whispered.

Davis pulled his fingers through my hair. "It will be ok, don't worry."

"When I thought my life was finally going good, I get back on that bumpy road. It came back in the end. Everything came back. The memories, the thoughts. Every kiss, every wish; it all came back. It came back for it's revenge. It's all back," I softly spoke.

Yolei walked over to me and sat down. She quickly slapped me across the face. "That is a bunch of nonsense! All of those things had reason to them…Don't be thinking like that!"

I placed my hands over my mouth. I couldn't believe what has happened.

Davis pulled my hands away and moved my hair out of my face. "Sweet Kari."

I looked at Davis. "Oh Davis, I'm sorry I told Ken, I just thought…"

"Don't worry, I've been through worse."

"And Ken," I turned to face him.

"Don't worry about it Kari. I'm fine," Ken smiled.

I stood up and looked at T.K. "It's back."

T.K. stared at me with a puzzled look.

"Just like it happened a year ago," I softly said.

"No Kari, that isn't going to happen," T.K. told me.

"What isn't going to happen?" Cody wondered.

"It will T.K., I know it will," I whispered.

"Nothing is going to happen Kari. I promise you, what ever does happen, won't be your fault. Just because something like that happened before, doesn't mean it's going to happen again," T.K. smiled.

Davis stared at T.K. "What are you talking about?"

"It's something you wouldn't understand. Just trust me about it, I know what I'm talking about," T.K. told him.

"I guess I can trust you this one time," Davis joked.

Images of the past year flashed through my head. Izzy and Mimi had that fight. Tai getting ran over by the car. The concert. All the make-ups. Cody getting his heart broken. Willis leaving for America. All those kisses. My secret being revealed. The trips to the Dark World. Now it felt like that stuff was happening again. T.K. and Yolei are in their argument. The Dark World is back.

I was staring at my hands. I was confused and scared. I decided to see if it was true, I decided to see if the Dark World was really back. I slowly pulled off my glove that covered where the cut once was. I looked away as I took it all the way off. I looked at the ceiling, then Davis, and then Ken. I still hadn't looked at the palm of my hand.

_Calm down Kari. Everything will be alright. You have friends to help you through. You have everything that you could possibly need. Nothing can stop you now. Not a cut, not a fight, not even the Dark World. Nothing! _I thought to myself.

Davis took my hand and held onto it. He softly smiled as he closed his eyes.

_What is he doing?_

Davis opened his right eye and flipped my hand over so you could see my palm.

I closed my eyes tight. _I'm not looking, I'm too scared._

"Look Kari," Davis whispered to me.

I slowly opened my eyes. The cut was there. It stared at me, I stared back. I looked at Davis.

He smiled as he rolled up his sleeve. He had his cut.

_Why are you smiling Davis? Do you think this is a game?_

"America," Davis said.

"What?" I was puzzled.

"In America was when my cut first went away. A week before we went there."

"Huh?"

"Our cuts went away a week before we went to America to see Willis! After he left Japan. Are you understanding this?"

"Um…Not really."

"How do I explain this?"

"When I gave you that e-mail, it was a week before we left for America to see Willis. It was the day we thought we destroyed the Dark World for good, but we didn't. Maybe the Dark World is scared of America or something like that. It made the cuts go away," Ken said.

"But my cut was there when we went to America," I told them.

"Or was it? You don't know if it was or wasn't, you never looked at the palm of your hand to make sure," T.K. smiled.

"This is so confusing. I understand what you guys are saying, and it makes sense, but I'm just not sure. It's all very confusing."

"Lets put it this way, we're going to make it through, no matter what," Davis decided.

"That is a great idea!" Ken agreed.

"I like that plan," I smiled.

"Anyways, we have some great friends that will help us through anything," Ken said.

"Uh…Does Jordan know about it?" I nervously asked.

Ken looked at Davis.

"Don't look at me! She's your girlfriend," Davis smiled.

"Was I supposed to?" Ken questioned.

Everyone turned and looked at me.

"I guess not, not when you really didn't have it when you guys started to go out, but-" I was cut off.

"I hate when there's a but," Ken complained.

"Let her finish," Yolei laughed.

"But, if this Dark World is really back, Jordan should probably know. Of course, you have to make the choice, if you don't think she should know, then don't tell her. It's all up to you," I explained.

"Right, I have to choose, just like you chose to tell Davis and everyone else," Ken nodded.

"And you'll have all of us to help you," T.K. reminded him.

I looked a Davis. _Tell Ken you're sorry. Make everything better._

Davis turned to look at Ken. "Dude, I'm sorry for calling Jordan what I called her."

"No problem! If I wasn't friends with Kari, I would have thought the same thing about her. We haven't been talking much, you think Jordan is taking away from our soccer playing time. I understand, I thought Kari would have done that too, but she likes to play soccer. Jordan doesn't, she's more into girl stuff, like hair and make-up," Ken explained.

"So, we're cool?"

"Of course!"

"Perfecto!" Yolei laughed.

"Now what should we do?" I wondered.

"Uh, yeah, weren't we stuck with this question before? I still don't have an answer…I'm willing to hear suggestions!" Ken smiled.

"How about we go out for some pizza?" Cody asked.

"Yeah, and we can invite Jordan, so I can get to know her," Davis agreed.

Ken nodded. "She lives right by the pizza place."

"Then, lets go!" T.K. opened the door.

We ran out.


	3. Chapter 3

"Ken, where are you going?" Mrs. Ichijouji questioned.

"The pizza place for…Pizza!" Ken laughed.

"Ok, I would like you home before dark," she smiled.

"I know, I will be home," he lightly smiled.

Ken, Yolei, T.K., Davis, and Cody walked out the front door. I walked behind them.

Mrs. Ichijouji stopped me.

"Kari, what was going on in Ken's room? I know he won't tell me," she frowned.

I hesitated.

I looked at Ken's mom, I could see that she was worried.

"Just a little fight, but it's fine now. I promise, I wouldn't let anything bad happen to any of my friends," I smiled.

"Oh dear, thank you Kari. I haven't seen Ken so happy. Once he met you and your friends, he was so happy, and now that Ken has Jordan, it is just amazing how much he smiles. He hasn't been so happy, not since Sam dies," Mrs. Ichijouji calmly said.

"No problem," I said.

The door quickly opened.

"Kari, hurry up!" Ken laughed as he took my hand.

"Ken," Mrs. Ichijouji looked at her son's hand. "You already have a girlfriend."

I started to turn bright red.

"And Kari has a boyfriend," she added.

"Mom! I'm taking her hand so she-" Ken started to explain.

"Um, Ken, you still need to learn to understand when someone is joking around," I hinted.

"Huh? Oh! Bye Mom!" Ken started to blush as he pulled me out the door.

"Bye Mrs. Ichijouji!" I laughed as I left.

"That is where Jordan lives? She lives in a mansion!" Davis exclaimed when we got to the house.

Ken laughed as he rang the doorbell.

Jordan opened the door. "Hey Ken!"

"Have you eaten yet?" Ken quickly asked.

"Um…No…Why?" Jordan was confused.

"Come on," he smiled.

"Where?" she demanded.

"Next door!"

"The pizza place? Ok!"

We quickly left Jordan's house, and walked to the pizza place.

"I haven't seen you guys around this place. Do you not visit Ken?" Jordan asked after we ordered.

"He usually comes to us, today he wanted us to come to him," I explained.

"I thought they should get to know my neighborhood. Why should I always have to go to theirs?" Ken laughed.

"Or he just ran out of money," Davis joked.

"Ken probably did. But enough about him, how have you guys been?" Jordan asked.

T.K., Yolei, Davis, and I hesitated.

"We've been pretty good! I know I've been doing much better. Of course we have hard times once in a while, but we get over it. You know what I mean?" Cody smiled.

"Yeah…How was school?" Jordan questioned.

"Oh! It was real fun! For me anyways. High school was better than I thought it was going to be," Yolei laughed.

"My day wasn't that bad. I thought my teacher was going to be mean, but he wasn't," Cody said.

"What about you guys?" Jordan looked at T.K., Davis, and me.

"Our teacher hates us, we made a new friend, we already have detention, and our teacher thought T.K. and I were going out," I quickly said.

"Detention? For what?" she wondered.

"I was running in the hallway," T.K. grinned.

"I was giving the teacher an attitude," I laughed.

"She never told me why I got detention," Davis moaned.

"For talking when the teacher was talking," I smiled.

"Sounds like you guys had fun," Jordan snickered.

"Yeah, real fun, nothing like getting detention on the first day of school," T.K. mumbled.

"How have you been Jordan? I know we haven't really kept in touch with you," I said.

"I've been ok," Jordan softly said.

The pizza was placed on our table.

"Thank you," Ken smiled at the waiter.

"So, you've just been ok?" Yolei asked Jordan.

"I've been a little worried," she frowned.

"Why?" Yolei demanded.

"My brother left for America a few days ago, he promised me he would call me when he got there. I'm still waiting for his call. I'm scared that he, well…I think you know what I mean," Jordan explained.

"I haven't heard of any plane crashes, maybe he just forgot to call. Did you ever try calling him?" Davis questioned.

"He doesn't have a cell phone," she frowned.

"Where was he going?" Cody wondered.

"New York, he was going to visit an old friend of his," she said.

"What is your brother's name and who is his friend?" I quickly asked.

"Sean, and his friend is a girl named Hanna," Jordan gave me a puzzled look.

Ken's eyes lit up. "Willis!"

"Huh?"

"Willis is our friend who lives in America…His girlfriend's name is Hanna, and he lives in New York," I started to laugh.

"We can give him a call, he will tell us," Yolei said.

"Maybe he e-mailed me back, I asked him about Hanna," I told them.

"We can go to my house. Kari, you can check your e-mails, and Davis, you can give Willis a call," Jordan decided.

"Hold on! Why do I have to call him?" Davis questioned.

"If you don't, I'll tell Jordan what you called her," I whispered to Davis.

"Right, I'm Willis's best friend. Stupid question!" he laughed.

We ran to Jordan's house, then quickly went to her room.

"Ok, Kari, the computer is on the desk, and here is the phone for Davis," Jordan handed the phone to Davis. He left the room.

I walked over to the desk where the computer was and sat down. I opened my e-mails.

"I got mail from Willis!" I smiled.

Dear Kari,

Everything is going great here! I don't get to spend time with Hanna this week because her friend, Sean, is here to visit her. Of course, I'm ok with that. I'm trying to plan another trip to Japan in the winter…That would be fun! So, you need to tell me what's going on with you. Your last e-mail was short and not very detailed. Please fill me in!

Love, Willis

"Sean is there!" I smiled.

"That's great, now I can enjoy him being gone. You can e-mail your friend back," Jordan told me.

I nodded my head.

Dear Willis,

I have a lot more to tell you this time. Sean is Jordan's (Ken's girlfriend's) brother. That isn't what I really need to tell you. I'll start with me. The Dark World is back, the cuts, everything! Davis and I got in this terrible fight today. Ken and Davis also got in a fight. We met this girl name Al, she's really cool. T.K. told Yolei that she could break up with him. He doesn't think she wants him anymore. I'm scared Willis. T.K. and Al have a lot in common, I'm scared that T.K.'s going to start thinking she's attractive. I can't see another person in our group go through a break up. You know what happened to me when Izzy and Mimi broke up for that period of time…I don't think I can go through that again. Willis, I hope you're having a better start to your school year. I've got detention already with T.K. and Davis. What else is going to happen? I'm scared Willis, I'm really scared.

Love, Kari

"Kari," Davis opened the door to Jordan's room. "Willis wants to talk to you."

I pulled the phone from his hand and left the room.

"Willis?" I questioned him.

"Hey Kari," Willis said in a scared voice.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I'm reading your e-mail. I'm starting to wish I didn't ask for more details," he told me.

I walked outside.

"It's terrible Willis. Nothing is going right this year," I said.

"What happened with Davis?" Willis demanded.

"We got in a fight."

"About what?"

"He called Jordan some nasty things."

"What's going on with T.K. and Yolei?"

"I'm not that sure. T.K. gave Yolei a note telling her that she could break up with him. I talked to T.K. about it. He thinks Yolei doesn't want him anymore, that she wants someone in her own school."

"Who's Al?"

"Al is this girl who just moved here. She lives with her mom and she has a brother who lives with her dad. Al and her mom just moved her to the place where her brother lives."

"That sounds just like T.K.!"

"But T.K. and Matt are only half brothers. Matt and T.K. have the same mom, but different dads. I wonder where T.K.'s dad is."

"Kari! Stay on the subject! So, I'm planning on coming to Japan in the winter. I better get going."

"Ok, it was nice talking to you Willis. I really miss you."

"I miss you too. I'll talk to you again."

"Bye."

"Bye Kari," Willis softly said as I heard a click. He hung up.

I walked back inside. I went to Jordan's room.

I walked over to Davis.

"How is Willis doing?" Ken asked me.

"He's doing good…I think. I really didn't ask him," I smiled.

"He's a little sad because he can't spend time with Hanna this week," Davis jumped in.

"That would be my little brother's fault," Jordan laughed.

"We better get going guys…I still haven't been home, and I have to tell my mom about the whole detention thing," T.K. decided.

"I almost forgot about that," Davis frowned.

"I still find that funny. I have to get home myself. I have be home before dark," Ken smiled.

Yolei walked over to the door. "We better get going guys. The sub that we need to catch leaves in 20 minutes."

"Yeah, I'm going to be in enough trouble with the detention, I don't want to be late!" I laughed.

We walked to the subway station.

We walked up to where we get our tickets. Yolei, Davis, and Cody quickly got their tickets and got out of the way.

T.K. jumped in front of me and placed his money in the machine. I had my own money in my hand.

"Put it away," T.K. told me.

"I need a ticket," I told him.

T.K. turned and smiled. "My treat…You bought me one, now I got to buy you a ticket."

"You didn't have to," I shook my head.

He held out the ticket. I snatched it from his hand.

"T.K., Kari! Hurry up! The sub is about to leave!" Cody yelled as he got on.

T.K. and I quickly ran up, but we didn't run fast enough. The doors closed on Cody's face and the sub left without us.

"Now I'm going to be late for sure!" I moaned.

"Come on, you can call your mom on that pay phone," T.K. decided.

I walked over to the phone and shoved my money in. I quickly dialed the number.

"Hello?" Tai answered the phone.

"Hey Tai…It's Kari," I nervously said.

"Kari? Where are you?" he quickly asked.

"I'm at the subway station."

"Get home, you know Mom doesn't like it when you get home late."

"I'm at the subway station by Ken's."

"Kari! I'll tell Mom, but she's going to be mad."

"I missed the first sub, but I'm here with T.K.; could you call his mom and tell her where he's at?"

"Fine! Just get home soon," Tai hung up the phone.

I turned to T.K. "He'll call your mom."

"Ok," T.K. smiled.

"We have an hour until the next sub comes, lets go sit down," I decided.

T.K. nodded his head, and we walked over to a bench and sat down.

"T.K.," I softly said.

"Yeah?" T.K. looked confused.

"I have a question," I nervously smiled.

"What is it?" he was sounding nervous.

I looked away. "You and Matt our only half brothers…You have the same mom. That means you should have a different dad. If that's true…Who's your dad?"

"I never thought any one would ever ask me that," T.K. mumbled.

"I was just wondering," I whispered. I still had my head turned away.

T.K. moved my head to look at him. "I don't know my dad. My mom has been looking for him for a long time. She told me that he really won't know about me because he went on a business trip before I was born. My mom also said that his work got moved to America, and she didn't want to move there so she decided to stay in Japan and raise me herself. I just try to pretend that I don't have a dad, but I've always wondered what he's like. I really want to know him, but I'm scared that if my mom does find him, we'll have to moved to America…I don't want that."

"That would be great if you could find you father, but terrible if you had to move," I frowned.

"I've only moved two times, one when my mom got back together with Matt's dad and left him, and then when I moved to where I live now," T.K. explained.

I started to look in my backpack.

"What are you doing?" T.K. asked me.

I looked up. "Give me a second." I started to look in my bag again. I grabbed a little bag.

"What's that?" he questioned me.

"Be patient!" I laughed. I took a picture out of the bag. "Here…You deserve this more than I do." I handed T.K. the picture.

He quickly snatched it from my hand. He stared at it. "Where did you get this?"

"Your mom gave it to me a few years ago," I softly responded.

"I've never seen this picture before. It's Matt and me…It was taken a long time ago. Why did my mom give the picture to you?" T.K. questioned.

"It was before you moved here…She mailed it to me," I remembered.

T.K. frowned. "I guess she didn't want any pictures with Matt in them."

"Come on T.K., the sub will be coming in a minute," I stood up.

"Right."

We slowly walked to where the sub stopped.

The sub stopped in front of us. We jumped on and handed the driver our tickets. T.K. found us seats, and we quickly sat down.

"Well…This day could have been better," T.K. smiled.

"Detention, missing a sub, our teacher doesn't like us…What else could possibly go wrong?" I closed my eyes.

"Yolei and I," he reminded me.

I quickly opened my eyes. "Is it that bad?"

"I just don't know anymore. Yolei has been confusing…And I don't think I'm helping her," T.K. frowned and looked away.

"It will get better," I softly said.

"Or it will get worse."

"You're sounding like me a year ago."

"Sorry."

The sub stopped.

"T.K., lets go," I stood up and walked towards the doors. T.K. was following me.

I slowly walked out of the subway station.

"I'll walk you home," I told T.K.

"What?" he questioned.

"I said, I'll walk you home," I repeated.

"You don't need to."

"But, I want to."

"Who will walk you home?"

I took T.K.'s hand. "I'll manage to get there on my own."

"But Kari, you'll get home even later."

"I don't care."

"I'll be fine Kari."

"I don't think you will!" I blurted out.

"What?" T.K. questioned.

"I'm scared that you're going to do something stupid, and I don't want anything to happen to you. I'm just really scared; I just didn't want to admit it," I let go of T.K.'s hand and looked away.

T.K. grabbed my hand. "I'm just as scared."

I could say anything.

"But I promise you, I won't do anything stupid. Nothing bad is going to happen to me…Nothing dangerous anyways. I know something bad has happened, and it's all my fault because I wrote that stupid note. Kari, I know you're scared about what has been going on between Yolei and me, but it isn't your fault; it's mine. I just wanted Yolei to have an option, and it ended up turning bad. I'll let you know what happens each and every day. Yolei might be my girlfriend, but you will always be my best friend."

I nodded my head.

"Kari, promise me you won't tell Yolei anything I tell you."

I didn't say anything.

"Promise me Kari!" T.K. pressured.

"No," I softly said.

"What?"

"I can't T.K.! I'm through with promises. I can't keep them. I'll end up telling Yolei everything! You should know me by now. Promises are as bad as secrets; they hurt me. T.K., don't you remember the past year. I tried everything not to tell, but I told everything. I can't do it."

Tears started to form in T.K.'s eyes. "It's ok Kari; I understand."

"Oh, T.K., I didn't mean to make you…Cry," I whispered.

"It's not you Kari. It's everything but you. I'm just so stupid! Why did I even have to give Yolei that note? Why did I have to tell her it was ok if she broke up with me?"

"You're confusing Yolei. She thinks you want to break up with her because you want someone else. She's scared. Yolei is only for you."

"How do you know that?"

"The e-mail I got wasn't nothing…It was Yolei."

T.K. wiped his eyes with the palm of his hand. "Thank you for telling me that. I guess I should explain myself to her. Whatever I tell you, you can tell it to Yolei if you want to."

"Even though Davis is my boyfriend, you will always be my best friend," I whispered in his ear. "Just, nothing ever more."

"So, is that walk home offer still available?" T.K. asked me.

I smiled. "Of course T.K.!"

"Then, lets get going, we're going to be real late…And it's a school night!"

I took T.K.'s right hand and pulled him down the road.

"Hey! Ok, ok! I'm coming!" T.K. yelled as I pulled him all the way home.

We stopped at T.K.'s door.

"Good night T.K., I'll see you in school…And detention," I smiled as I started to walk away.

"Why did you have to remind me!" T.K. called out as he walked into his apartment.

I quickly walked to my own apartment. I opened the door. Tai and my mom were waiting for me.

"Kari, did you eat?" my mom asked.

"I ate before I left Ken's," I smiled.

I started to walk to the bedroom.

"Your school called," Tai quickly said.

I grabbed the detention slip out of my pocket and handed it to my mom.

"Why did you get detetion Kari?" my mom demanded.

"Because I was giving the teacher an attitude," I frowned.

"I want you home everyday after school…Right after detention."

"It's not my fault I got detetoin. Anyways, T.K. and Davis got detetion too! Mrs. Shing told Davis that he could have a second chance, but she didn't give it to him. The only reason Mrs. Shing hates me is because Tai is my brother!" I yelled.

Tai nervously laughed.

"Go to bed," my mom pointed at our bedroom door.

"Come on Kari," Tai pushed me into the room.

"Kari, you should have been home 30 minutes ago! What took you so long?" Tai questioned.

"T.K. and I started to talk, and I walked him home," I smiled.

"T.K. is a big boy…I think he could have gotten home by himself," Tai laughed.

I crossed my arms and sat on the bed. "I'm sorry Tai, I'll never be concerned for my friends ever again. I promise!"

"Concerned? What's wrong with T.K.?" Tai asked.

"Him and Yolei are fighting because T.K. told her that she could break up with him."

Tai sat next to me. "Why would he tell her that?"

"He thought she didn't want him anymore because she's in high school."

"Davis called me…He said that the Dark World is back."

I took off my glove and showed Tai the cut. "I'm having a bad start to this school year."

"Things will get better. It's my fault you got detention. Mrs. Shing didn't like me. I was a troublemaker. I got everyone in trouble…Including Izzy and Sora!"

"Tai…I'm scared," I whispered.

"Scared? Why?" Tai questioned.

"The Dark World, T.K. and Yolei, I don't know if I can go through it again," I told him.

"Kari, you're not going through it alone. You have all your friends by your side. You have a boyfriend, a huge group of friends, and a brother that would do anything for you."

"I have to get ready for bed," I grabbed my pajamas.

"Davis said he wanted to walk with you to school tomorrow…He said something that he needed to tell you. Are you guys fighting?"

"We had a fight, but it wasn't anything major…I promise," I walked out of the room.

I walked into the bathroom and quickly changed.

"Everything will be ok…Tai is right," I told myself.

I walked out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom.

"Kari, could you get the light?" Tai asked me when I got into the room.

"Sure," I turned off the light.

"I'll come and get you after detention is over. We'll talk more then," he told me.

"Ok," I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

"Time to get up!" my mom yelled.

"I'm up! What?" Tai yelled as he threw all of the covers off of him.

"Do you have to yell that every time Mom gets us up?" I asked him.

Tai climbed down from the top bunk. "It's a bad habit of mine…I'm sorry."

I walked over to the closet. "If you say so."

"Want me to pick you out an outfit?" Tai questioned.

"I'm 14, I can pick my own outfit," I laughed. I grabbed a pink dress.

"Not the pink dress…I'm sick of that pink dress! Please, pick something different!" he begged.

I pulled out a skirt and a baggy short sleeve shirt. "Better?"

"You have a skirt?" Tai asked as he took out his school uniform.

"Where have you been?"

Tai took out his soccer ball. "Want to play after school?"

"Mom said I had to come straight home after detention," I reminded him.

"Hey Mom!" Tai yelled.

Our mom opened the door. "What?"

"Do you think Kari and I could play some soccer before we come home?" Tai questioned.

"I told Kari that she needed to come home after detention," Mom remembered.

Tai frowned. "Please Mom? I won't ever asked for anything ever again. I never get a chance to hang out with my little sister anymore. I just want a chance to talk to her."

"Fine! You just have to be home before dark," she decided.

Tai jumped up and hugged our mom. "Thanks!"

She walked out of the room.

"You sure do know how to butter her up," I laughed.

Tai grabbed his soccer uniform. "I need some practice anyways. You can invite Davis if you want to…I'm ok with that."

"I'll talk to him," I smiled.

"Ok!"

I opened the door. "I need to change. Meet me outside…Bring my bag."

I walked into the bathroom.

"Today might be a good day," I brushed my hair.

I walked out of the bathroom and went back into the bedroom.

"I'll need my roller blades," I grabbed them out of the closet.

I ran out of the apartment.

"Hey Kari, your boyfriend is here!" Tai called to me.

I walked up to Tai and Davis.

"Do you have your blades?" Davis asked me.

I held them up. "Of course."

Tai smiled and started to laugh. "I'll leave you two love birds alone. Davis, don't forget that you can meet us at the soccer field if you want to play."

Davis put on his roller blades. "Ok, I'll be able."

"Your parents didn't care that you got detention?" I asked as I put on my roller blades.

"Of course they did…Of course they think you're a good role model for me, so they don't care if I hang out with you!"

Tai started to walk away. "He didn't tell them that you got detention, Kari."

I shook my head. "Come on Davis."

We quickly skated to our school.

"T.K.! Watch out!" I cried as I smacked into him. We fell; Davis fell on top of us.

"Oww," T.K. said.

Davis and I quickly got up.

"I'm sorry T.K., I'm not good at stopping," I smiled.

"Hurry and take the blades off, we have to get to class," Davis told me.

I took off the roller blades. "How did your mom take it T.K.?"

"Better than I thought. She wasn't that mad," he smiled.

We walked into the school and into our classroom.

"So, can you hang out after school? Tai and I were going to play soccer after I got out of detention, Davis was going to join us…We'll need a fourth person," I told T.K.

"I'm not that good at soccer," T.K. frowned.

"Come on T.K. it will be fun…Or is it because something else is bothing you?" Davis wondered.

"Nothing's bothering me. I'm fine, I'm just no good at the sport, it wouldn't be fair."

"How about you can watch Tai and me play, and you and Davis can play basketball. Basketball is your sport," I smiled.

"But that wouldn't be fair either…I'm better at that too!" Davis exclaimed.

"That's why my team won against yours last year," T.K. remembered.

"You had the better team," he smiled.

"You lie! Come on guys, the teacher is coming," I looked out the classroom door.

"We have 15 minutes until class starts, what she is going to do?" T.K. questioned.

Mrs. Shing walked into the classroom. "Take your seats."

"That means we can be in the hallway still, come on," Davis decided.

We walked to the door.

"Where are you going?" Mrs. Shing demanded.

"Bathroom," Davis quickly said.

"14 minutes until class starts…Make it quick!"

We walked out of the room.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to survive this year," I complained.

"If I have to be called Daisuke Motomiya all year long…I don't know what I'll do!" Davis agreed.

"There has got to be a worse teacher somewhere!" T.K. thought.

A boy walked out of the bathroom.

"That was random," Davis whispered in my ear. I whispered it in T.K.'s ear.

"What?" the boy demanded.

"We didn't say anything," T.K. quickly said.

"Right, you're just whispering about me in each others ear."

"What makes you think that?"

"You were whispering right when I came out of the bathroom!"

"And your point is?"

"I'm not liking your attitude. What, you're a 7th grader?"

"I'm in 8th grade!"

The boy scanned T.K. "You're short for a 14 year old."

"I'm not short!" T.K. yelled.

The boy started to laugh. "Stop it! You're killing me!"

T.K. didn't say anything.

"Oh, did I make the little baby speechless?" the boy asked.

"That's it!" T.K. raised his fist and started to swing.

"Stop!" I screamed.

"Are you going to listen to your little girlfriend? Go ahead and punch me!" the boy insisted.

"Excuse you? I am not his girlfriend! You have no right giving my friend an attitude. You think you're big and bad, but you're just a pathetic boy! Don't ever mess with my friends!" I yelled.

"What are you going to do? You're just as weak as your friend here."

I quickly punched him in the face. "Don't ever talk about my friends like that. You don't even know them."

"Hikari Kamiya!" Mrs. Shing shouted.

I was getting angry; Davis had to hold onto me to calm me down.

"What?" I crossly asked as I turned to face my teacher.

"All four of you, principal's office now!" Mrs. Shing told us.

"Gladly," I walked down the steps. Davis, T.K., and the other boy followed us.

We stepped into the principal's office.

"Are you the group Mrs. Shing sent?" he asked.

"Yep!" I cheerfully said.

"You seem happy about this," he told me.

"Oh no, not at all. I'm going to be in a lot of trouble with my mom, but right now…I don't care."

"Kari…Stop talking before you make it worse," Davis told me.

"Tell me your names," the pricnipal demanded.

"Hikari Kamiya," I quickly said.

"Daisuke Motomiya."

"Takeru Takaishi."

"Joshua Filmoshin, but call me Josh," the boy smiled.

"So, who wants to tell me what happened?" the principal asked.

"I will sir. You see, I was leaving the bathroom, and Takeru, I believe it is, started to talk trash about me. I was trying to defend myself when Hikari punches me," Josh lied.

"Liar!" Davis yelled. "You accused us of talking about you. You got in an argument with T.K., you were talking bad about him! Kari was defending herself because you were being a bully!"

"Is this true?" the principal wondered.

Josh nervously laughed. "Kind of."

The principal stood up. "Hikari, hitting was not the answer."

"Let me guess, detention for another week? Or do I get an in school?" I questioned.

"I was going to let you off the hook since it is the second day of school, and Josh has a record of fighting. Get to class."

T.K., Davis, and I quickly walked out of the room, Josh followed us.

"Hey wait up for a second!" Josh called out to us.

I turned to him. "I'm sorry I hit you. I haven't been having a good start to this school year. I already got detention for giving my teacher an attitude."

"That's not what I wanted to hear. Are you related to Tai?"

"Yeah, he's my brother. Why?"

"I was in soccer club with him last year, I didn't stay in it. He got hit by a car, I didn't want that to happen to me, so I quit."

"Everyone in soccer club knew that. Even the new members do!" Davis smiled.

We stopped when we got to the classroom door.

"Who is your teacher Josh?" T.K. asked.

"The one and only Mrs. Shing. Terrible shame, isn't it?" Josh snickered.

"Welcome to our world!" I laughed.

We opened the door and walked in.

"I'm glad you decided to join us today," Mrs. Shing told us.

We quickly sat in our seats.

"Who would like to tell Daisuke, Hikari, Takeru, and Joshua what they missed?" Mrs. Shing asked the class.

Al shot up her arm.

"Al, go ahead."

"We were talking about t the classroom rule. Also, you were telling us about what we would be doing this year," Al smiled.

"Thank you Al. Now, we need to get partnered up for a project we'll be doing. I'll let you pick your partners, but make a wise choice."

Everyone stood up.

"Excuse me, you're Hikari, right?" a boy asked me.

"Call me Kari," I smiled.

"Will you be my partner? My name is Mike," he said.

"Uh, I'm not that sure," I was puzzled.

"She's not going to be partners with a nerd like you. Hello Kari, I'm James. I would be honored if you would be my partner."

I hesitated.

"No, please, be my partner. My name is Jake. I would love to be partners with the prettiest girl in the classroom."

"Hold that thought. Davis! Help!" I yelled.

"Excuse me, boyfriend coming through!" I heard Davis shout. He pushed through the crowd and reached me. He smiled.

"Want to be my partner?" I questioned.

"Sure Kari! I would love to!" Davis laughed.

"Where is T.K.?" I asked.

"I think he's going to be partners with Al," Davis said.

I saw Josh walk by us. "Hey Josh! Go ask Al if she'll be your partner."

"I already have a partner," Josh told me.

"Who?" I wondered.

"T.K., I wanted to get to be friends with him after what happened."

"Thank you," I sighed.

I saw Al talking to Mrs. Shing.

"Class, who doesn't have a partner?" Mrs. Shing asked. No one raised their hand.

Mrs. Shing started to talk to Al.

"I wonder what is going on," I whispered to Davis.

"Who will let Al join their group?" Mrs. Shing questioned.

"We will Mrs. Shing," my hand shot up.

Al walked over to us. "Are you sure that's ok with Davis?"

I looked at Davis. "It's ok, right Davis?"

"Of course!" Davis smiled.

He understood that I didn't want Al working with T.K. and Josh.

"Ok, our project is a biography. In your pairs, you will learn more about that person and present a biography of him or her next Monday," Mrs. Shing explained.

"Who's going to do who?" Al asked us.

"You can do the biography on me, Davis will do you, and I'll do Davis," I decided.

"No fair! You get me, which will be really easy because you already know me!" Davis protested.

"She'll just have to learn more," Al smiled.

"Start to get to know your partner and write down note…Begin!" Mrs. Shing instructed.

"Ok Kari, give me some information to work with," Al told me.

"I have a brother, Tai Kamiya. I'm 14 years old. I like taking pictures with my digital camera…I always carry it around with me. I live with my mom, dad, and brother. My best friend is T.K. Takaishi. My boyfriend is Davis Motomiya. I play soccer with Tai and Davis all the time. I have a friend named Willis who lives in America. I think that's it for now," I smiled.

"What about you Al, I need some information," Davis said.

"Ok, let me think. My name is Al Amber. I have a brother, Danny Lee. I'm 14 years old. I live with my mom and I just moved here. My brother lives with my dad. We don't live together. I don't have a boyfriend. I don't have many friends at all. That's all I can really think of," Al explained.

"Your turn Davis," I laughed.

"I'm 14 years old and in the 8th grade. My full name is Daisuke Motomiya, but I go by Davis. I live with my mom, dad, and my very annoying sister, June. My best friend is Ken Ichijouji…He doesn't go to this school. My girlfriend is Hikari Kamiya, but I just call her Kari. When I grow up I want to own a noodle stand. Last year I broke a window when I was playing soccer indoors…In the school. The worse memory I have is when I heard Tai scream after he got hit by the car last year. Also, whenever I see Kari cry, those are also bad memories. I'm in soccer club, and I'm on the soccer team. Oh, I'm also on the basketball team! I like to hang out with my friends and have a good time with them. I also enjoy playing soccer. And my favorite qoute is 'I love you Davis', Kari Kamiya," Davis blushed.

"Wow…Ok, did you get all of that Kari?" Al questioned me.

"Sadly…I already knew all of that," I frowned.

"Kari never mentioned that she wanted to be a teacher when she grows up," Davis remembered.

"You want to be a teacher? That's really cool," Al thought.

"I forgot about that…Sorry," I blushed.

"Class is dismissed!" Mrs. Shing announced.

"We'll talk more tomorrow," I told Al as I walked over to T.K.

"Hey Kari," T.K. smiled.

"Hello boys," I smirked.

"How is your biography going?" Josh asked.

"It's pretty easy…I'm doing my boyfriend…How hard can that be?" I said.

"Boyfriend…You're with Al and Davis…That means…Davis is your boyfriend!"

"He's a real sweet guy once you get to know him."

"And after you've kissed him about a million times. Those places include in a tree, out in the hall, at her apartment, at Yolei's apartment, at Ken's apartment…My apartment! Need I go on?" T.K. laughed.

"Oh, you should have never started," I softly said.

"Where's Davis anyways?"

"Uh…Probably going to detention! Where we should be!"

"See you guys later!" Josh yelled as I pulled T.K. out of the classroom.

We stopped at the detention room's door. Davis was waiting there.

"Who wants to go first?" I asked.

Davis put his hand on the doorknob. "It can't be that bad."

We slowly walked in.

"Hello, I'm Mr. Jones. I'll take your detetion slips," he smiled.

We handed him our slips.

"Ok, Hikari, Daisuke, and Takeru, take any seat. There is no talking allowed. Busy yourself with something else."

We walked over to three empty desks.

"I'm going to step out for a few minutes…I should be back in 30 minutes!" the teacher left.

"Welcome new comers," a boy grinned.

We nervously laughed.

"I'm Greg…What are your names and what are you guys in for?"

"Hi, I'm Kari. I'm here because my teacher is a jerk…And I might have given her an attitude. Oh, and I was running in the hall," I smiled.

"T.K. is my name. I'm here for running in the hall, talking back at the teacher, and because my teacher likes to make us suffer," T.K. explained.

"Davis Motomiya, first time in detention, but long time troublemaker. I was talking when the teacher was talking," Davis said.

"Well…Welcome to detention. Mr. Jones always leaves for a half an hour, so we kind of take over the place. Don't worry, we never get in trouble for it," Greg smiled.

Davis and T.K. looked at me.

I took out a notebook. "If you guys want to hang with them, I can't stop you. I just have other things I want to do."

"We'll pass this time," Davis decided.

"Ok," Greg walked away from us.

"You guys can go and have some fun. Please, don't let me hold you back," I smiled.

"We're not letting you stay by yourself," T.K. said.

"Why?"

"Do you see any other girls in this room?"

"No."

"Well, I don't want any of these boys doing anything to you. You can't trust any of them," Davis explained to me.

"Oh, you want to protect me, how cute," I laughed.

"You think this is funny?" T.K. demanded.

"Yeah, maybe a little," I nodded my head.

"Kari, protecting you isn't funny. Now, I'll show you funny," Davis pulled down his goggles and took T.K.'s hat and put it on. "See, this is funny."

T.K. took his hat back. "Yes, that is very funny Davis."

"Since when did you lose your sense of humor?"

"I didn't lose my sense of humor…I just don't find it funny!"

"Lately, you've been too serious. Is it the thing with Yolei?"

"Kari, you told him?"

"What? I didn't say anything to him," I was shocked.

"Dude, don't blame Kari. Yolei told me yesterday when we were looking for Cody," Davis corrected him.

"Oh, sorry…I guess I have been a little tense," T.K. frowned.

Greg walked over to us.

"Mr. Jones is going to be coming back in a minute. Act natural," Greg told us.

"Does that mean detention is almost over?" I asked.

"Yep," he nodded.

Mr. Jones walked in. "You may leave now."

Davis, T.K., and I got up and walked out.

"You guys still up for that soccer?" I asked.

"After detention, anything active would be fun," T.K. smiled.

We quickly walked over to the soccer field.

I saw Tai talking to someone. "Hey Tai!"

Tai walked up to me and smiled.

"Who's that?" I questioned.

"She's your friend," Tai rolled his eyes.

"Huh?"

"It's Yolei, isn't it?" T.K. demanded.

"You say that as if it's a bad thing," Tai noticed.

"Tai, I have some new soccer trick I want to show you," Davis quickly pulled him away.

"I can't do it Kari; I can't talk to her. I'm too scared. I'm going to go over by Tai and Davis. Give Yolei this note," T.K. handed me a piece of paper.

"T.K., sooner or later you're going to have to face your fear and tell Yolei how you feel," I said.

"I did Kari, it's all in that note," he walked away.

I walked over to Yolei.

"What's T.K. doing here? Tai said it was going to only be you and Davis," Yolei told me.

"I invited him…I didn't know you were going to be here," I handed her the note.

"What's this?" she asked.

"It's from T.K.," I informed her.

She opened the note and quickly read it. "He didn't mean it."

"Are you going to be ok?" I questioned.

"Read it," Yolei handed me the paper.

To My Sweet Yolei,

I didn't mean to scare you with the first note that was given. I don't want another girl; I just want to make you happy. I felt like you didn't want me. I thought I wasn't good enough. My words turned out wrong. Now we're in a fight. I only want you, but I don't deserve your love. If you want to keep me, I'll think it's a mistake. I don't want to leave you. I just thought you would want someone older. Someone more mature. Someone that wasn't me. Someone that really deserved your love. A friend told me that I was the only one for you. That my words were confusing. I found out I was making a mistake. I should have never told you that you could break up with me. I just thought you deserved the option.

Love,

Takeru "T.K." Takaishi

"That's sweet," I smiled.

"You told him how I felt. Thank you Kari," Yolei softly said.

I pointed at T.K. "Don't just stand here! Go get your man!"

Yolei looked at T.K., then at me. "You're coming too." She dragged me over to where T.K., Davis, and Tai were.


	4. Chapter 4

"Takeru Takaishi!" Yolei yelled at T.K.

"What did you do?" Davis asked him.

"I'm sorry?" T.K. questioned.

Yolei walked up to him and gave him a hug. "You are so sweet! I love you so much."

"I love you too and all, but…I can't breathe!" T.K. tried to pull away.

"Oh, sorry," Yolei let go of him.

"That's…O…K," T.K. gasped.

Davis and I smiled at each other.

"Looks like things are back to normal," I told him.

"Yep," Davis agreed.

"I told you it wasn't going to happen Kari. You should learn to trust me," T.K. smiled at me.

Davis looked at T.K., then at me. "That's what he was talking about at Ken's!"

"I don't know what any of you are talking about! Now, remind me next time I invite you and Davis, that I need to invite Sora so I have someone to talk to! So, who wants to play some soccer?" Tai asked.

Yolei stared at us. "I have to get home. My dad wanted me to work at the store."

"This weekend, we'll all do something together," T.K. decided.

"Ok, I'll call you!" Yolei waved to us as she ran off.

"That girl is weird," Tai told us.

"You just don't understand what's been going on," I explained.

"But don't worry Tai, you didn't miss anything," T.K. smiled.

"Hey Kari, why don't you tell Tai what happened in school today?" Davis winked.

"Yeah Kari, why don't you?" Tai agreed.

"I might have punched a guy. It wasn't anything, really," I said.

"It was really my fault. I was yelling at Josh," T.K. decided.

Tai put his hands on my shoulders and started to shake me. "You hit a guy…In school? What were you thinking? Are you trying to get yourself in trouble this year?"

I started to laugh. "I was sticking up for my friend. Also, Josh called me T.K.'s girlfriend…And I'm kind of sick of that. Just because we're best friends, doesn't me we're going out."

"He called Kari weak too," Davis remembered.

"Kari sure did prove to him that she isn't weak!" T.K. laughed.

"So, what, did you get more detention?" Tai questioned.

"Nope, the principal didn't care!" I giggled.

"Ok, that means we're not telling Mom about it."

"Right."

"So, are we going to play soccer, or just talk all day?" Davis questioned.

"Ok, it will be T.K. and Kari against Davis and me," Tai decided.

"That isn't fair, we're better than them!" Davis smiled.

"Fine, it will be Davis and T.K. and Kari and me," Tai said.

"Ok, first team to get five goals wins," I decided.

"Ok, come on T.K., you'll be goalie," Davis instructed.

"Kari, I'll be goalie. I want to see how good you are," Tai told me.

"Ok…I think," I walked to the center of the field.

"One, two…Go!" Davis yelled.

I kicked the ball passed him.

"Hey!" Davis called after me.

I quickly kicked the soccer ball into the goal. T.K. missed when he tried to get it. T.K. picked up the ball and kicked it past me. Davis kicked it into the goal and got a point.

"Tai, switch. I want to be goalie," I smiled.

"Ok," Tai slowly walked onto the field and I took his spot.

"Bring it on Tai!" Davis yelled.

Tai kicked the ball quickly into the goal. T.K. blocked it, but Tai kicked it in and got it in that time. That was our second goal.

"I'm not liking the whole goalie thing," T.K. complained.

"Play against Tai. If you can get a goal, you're worthy of my friendship," Davis pushed him out into the field.

"Good luck T.K.," Tai snickered.

"Why did I have to open my big mouth?" T.K. questioned.

"One, two…Go!" Tai yelled.

T.K. kicked it passed Tai. He ran for the goal. T.K. quickly kicked the soccer ball and got passed me. We were tied.

"You're good!" I told T.K. as I kicked the soccer ball across the field.

"Thanks," he laughed as he ran after it.

Tai made a goal.

"Tai! It's starting to get dark. Mom wanted us to be home before it got dark," I remembered.

"You won for now Tai," Davis told him.

"Ok," Tai smiled.

"You guys can get home on your own?" I asked.

"I think we can manage," T.K. said.

"Tai, I'll meet up with you in a minute," I waved him off.

Tai walked away from the soccer field.

"Davis give me and T.K. a minute," I shooed Davis off.

He walked away from us.

I hugged T.K. "I'm glad you and Yolei are ok."

"Nothing was ever wrong, I just made it seem that way," T.K. softly said.

"Your words were sweet," I smiled.

"You read it?" he asked.

"Yolei wanted me too," I explained.

"She's truly great."

I kissed T.K. on the cheek. "Go get Davis for me. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

T.K. walked off. I saw him talking to Davis. Davis walked up to me.

I quickly hugged Davis. "I'm sorry about all of this."

"About what? You didn't do anything," Davis softly said.

"I've been pretty moody. I guess it's the whole Dark World thing. It kind of scares me, but I know I'll always have you to help me. I have some great friends."

Davis stared at me. "You can be as moody as you want to be. No matter what, I will always love you the same."

I softly kissed him on the lips. "I love you Davis, but I have to go."

"I love you too. I'll see you tomorrow."

We walked away.

I quickly caught up to Tai. We walked home.

"Hey guys," my mom smiled as we walked into the door.

"Hi Mom," Tai quickly closed the door.

"How was your day?" she asked.

"Good," Tai walked over to the phone.

"Kari?"

"What?" I questioned.

"How was your day?"

"Um…Interesting."

"Tai…Don't even think about going on the phone. I have dinner on the table for you guys. Wash up and get eating," Mom instructed.

Tai walked to the bathroom; I followed him.

Tai turned on the bathroom sink. "What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know, and to be honest, I don't want to figure out," I put my hands in the water.

"So, what was going on with T.K. and Yolei?"

I dried my hands. "Nothing anymore…You already knew."

"Kari, why do I feel like you're hiding something?"

"Because you like to assume things like that."

"I won't let this go!"

I opened the door. "If you say so."

I walked to the table and started to eat. Tai sat across from me.

"You're doing this on purpose," Tai complained.

"I'm not doing anything Tai," I looked away.

"Why won't you tell me?"

"Why do you always have to think there is something wrong?"

"Because there is."

I slammed my fork onto the table. "There is nothing wrong! Just, let it go!"

"You're lying," Tai told me.

I stood up and pushed in my chair. "Just because you're my brother, doesn't mean I have to tell you everything that is happening in my life."

"Kari," Tai frowned.

I walked into our room.

I picked up a pillow. "I hate all of this!"

I threw the pillow onto the bed.

"I didn't want to know!" I yelled at myself.

I threw myself on my bed and hid my face in the pillow. I started to cry.

"Why me? Why me!" I screamed into the pillow.

I heard the door slowly open.

"Go away! Leave me alone! Leave me to cry the tears I should have shed yesterday!" I shouted.

"Shh Kari…Someone is on the phone for you, would you like to talk to him?" Tai softly asked.

I quickly got up and snatched the phone from him.

"Hello?" I asked weakly over the phone.

"Kari…It _is_ happening," T.K. sobbed on the other side.

"Tai, leave the room…Now!" I pointed to the door. Tai left. "What's happening?"

"You know how you were saying that stuff about the Dark World and Yolei and me?" T.K. asked.

"Yeah," I softly said.

"Remember how you were saying that it's happening again?"

"Yes."

"Well…You're right, but it's different from what you said."

"What?"

"Mimi moved back to Japan from America."

"Huh?"

"And…I'm…Moving to…America."

I started to cry again. "No, you can't. Everything was going so good for you."

"I know Kari…I didn't think it would happen," I could tell T.K. was crying.

"Why?" I demanded.

"We-we f-found…My-my f-father," he stuttered.

"But, that's a good thing."

"In a way…It is, but I never thought we would find him…I never thought I would have to leave. I never thought it would happen."

"Where in America?"

"Oklahoma."

"Did you tell Yolei?"

"That's the problem…I can't!"

"Why?"

"I'm too scared. I can't get myself to do it. Kari, I love Yolei too much to tell her. I don't want to break her heart. I don't want to leave her."

"T.K., you need to calm down. I'll call Yolei and tell her, but you have to call Davis and tell him."

"Thank you Kari…I don't know what I would do without you."

"I'll talk to you tomorrow," I hung up the phone.

I quickly dialed Yolei's phone number.

"Hello?" Yolei answered.

"Hey Yolei," I slowly said.

"What's wrong? You sound shaky," Yolei told me.

"T.K. wanted me to call you because he was too scared to."

"Why?"

"Did you ever know that T.K. and Matt have two different fathers?"

"No…Should I?"

"T.K. and Matt have the same mother. T.K.'s father left for America for a business trip before T.K. was born. His father's job got moved to America, but T.K.'s mom stayed in Japan to raise him. She's been looking for his father ever since then."

"Right…Is there a point to this?"

"T.K.'s mom found his father in America."

"So, T.K.'s dad is going to move to Japan?"

"No."

"T.K.'s moving to America…No. This can't be happneing!" Yolei cried.

I was crying myself. "I know, I don't want this to happen either. T.K. doesn't want to go, but he wants to know his dad."

"I have to go Kari, I have to get to bed," Yolei quickly hung up the phone.

I listened to the dial tone. After a minute, I hung up our phone.

"Tai!" I yelled.

Tai opened the door and sat next to me.

"Mrs. Takaishi called early and told us that T.K. and her were moving. I didn't want to tell you. I guess it was bothering me, so I thought something was bothing you," Tai explained.

"You knew before T.K. knew. You knew before anyone other then Mrs. Takaishi knew. I didn't know…I didn't think it would ever happen," I whispered.

"I know this is going to be hard," Tai told me.

"Why does it always happen to me Tai? Do I ever get a break from all this horrible stuff?" I asked.

"It's going to be hard, but you have to hope that one day all the pain will go away," he said.

"Everything was going so good…It was starting to get better. What about Matt…Does he know? He'll be crushed even more than I am," I softly said.

"I don't know, but I really don't want to be the one to tell him. T.K. probably told Matt already…They're brothers so."

"They're half brothers…And T.K. had to have me tell Yolei, so I don't think it's going to be easy for the boy to tell his own brother," I frowned.

"How did Yolei take it?"

"She was in tears, just like me."

Tai stood up. "Kari, this is going to be the hardest thing your going to go through so far in your life. It's going to be harder than the Dark World, or kissing Willis and liking it. But, if you ever need someone to talk to about T.K. moving, I'm not going to be the perfect person…But Izzy would be; he went through this with Mimi because he hadn't told her about him liking her. Izzy knows how it feels, but I don't, so I'll listen to you, but I don't think I'll be of much help."

"But the one thing that is different between Izzy with Mimi moving and me with T.K. moving is, T.K.'s my best friend, and I don't like him for anything more," I explained.

Tai sighed and threw me my pajamas. "Some how, you'll figure out how to make everything better. You always do."

"Yeah, but that was when I wasn't part of the problem," I left for the bathroom.

I started to change and I thought about what happened last year.

_"I am…I've been thinking. Since we met, I thought our friendship would never die, I thought we would be friends for life. When I was younger, ok, I still do, wish we could have something more than friendship. I know that this will never happen; you have only friendship for me. I was thinking about what I said to you a couple nights ago, about me losing you. I figured it out, I am losing you, and you are losing me! Our friendship will not be able to go on, not with you spending so much time with Davis and Yolei and I. Our friendship is going to die soon!" T.K. said deep with thought._

_"Then we'll make time!" I screamed._

_"Kari, we can't, it just won't work, maybe if our friendship is gone, I might get over you."_

_"Don't think like that!"_

_"I'm sorry."_

"T.K. said he thought he was losing me. I thought I was losing him. He thought our friendship was dying. I denied it; I wouldn't believe that to be true," I told myself.

_"Kari…I'm…I'm scared that I'm going to lose the only friend that understands me," he told me._

_"Who is this friend?" I asked shyly, knowing that he was going to say me._

_"It's you Kari," he said slowly._

_"You're not losing me!" I yelled at him._

_"Yes I am. I'm losing you to Davis," he said calmly._

_"To Davis? Why do you say that?" I asked him in puzzlement._

_"It's never just you and me, it's always you, me, and Davis," he said sadly._

_"I…I don't understand T.K.," I said softly._

_"You never want to hang out with just me. I want to be with just you sometimes, but I never can. Every time I get a chance to talk to just you, Davis always shows up," he said in a calm voice._

_"Why didn't you tell me this from the start?" I questioned._

_"Because…I was…I was…Scared I guess," T.K. said unsure of himself._

_"T.K., if you wanted some time with me, just tell me, I won't get mad. Davis won't either. Trust me T.K., please. I'm sorry, I'm sorry for what I have done," I finished._

"After that night, our friendship was starting to die. We were slowly growing apart. I did spend more time with Davis than with T.K., but is it truly my fault? I can't control my heart; it plays its own games. After a friendship that was so long. A friendship since we were only nine! Now, it's getting all thrown away because he has to go to America. But, it has a reason behind it. A great reason. A father for T.K., but does Mrs. Takaishi even know what she's making him lose? Sure, he'll be gaining a father, but will T.K. ever be able to find the things he's found here? The best of friends, a girlfriend, and a life he could never get anywhere else. Is it really worth it? I will never know…I guess it wasn't T.K.'s choice. And, after all we've been through…I'm going to lose it because of a move I never thought would happen. Sadly, I wish that T.K. and Yolei broke up instead. At least I would know how to fix that," I was talking to myself.

_T.K. moved my head to look at him. "I don't know my dad. My mom has been looking for him for a long time. She told me that he really won't know about me because he went on a business trip before I was born. My mom also said that his work got moved to America, and she didn't want to move there so she decided to stay in Japan and raise me herself. I just try to pretend that I don't have a dad, but I've always wondered what he's like. I really want to know him, but I'm scared that if my mom does find him, we'll have to moved to America…I don't want that."_

"I just had to ask him about his father. Oh well, what else could possibly go wrong?" I opened the door and left the bathroom.

I walked back into our room as the phone started to ring.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Kari, T.K. called me…Are you ok?" Davis questioned.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow," I told him.

"Wait, but Kari-!" Davis said as I hung up the phone on him.

"Kari, what was that about?" Tai asked me.

"Oh, nothing. Lets get some sleep. I have a lot to do tomorrow," I laid my head on my pillow.

The lights were turned off. "Good night…I think."

I closed my eyes tight and cried myself to sleep.

_"You're really going," I softly said._

_"I knew it was going to happen one of these days…I just didn't think it would be so soon," T.K. told me._

_"I guess you were right."_

_"What?"_

_"Last year, you said you were losing me and that our friendship was dying…I guess it really is."_

_"Kari, I was being foolish; I know better now. Just because I'm moving to America, doesn't mean that will ever break our friendship!"_

_I started to cry as I fell into T.K.'s arms. "What about you and Yolei?"_

_"Kari, she might be my girlfriend, but my heart will always belong to you," T.K. smiled._

_"But T.K., you said you were over me. You said you were in love with Yolei," I reminded him._

_"People say a lot of things to make themselves think the things, but that doesn't mean it's true. I was trying to hide my feelings for you, but I couldn't stop them from coming out one of these days. Now that I'm moving, I thought you should know, I might have been with Yolei, but I always loved you more than I could ever love her," T.K. explained._

_"But T.K., I'm with Davis; you know we could never be more than fr-" I started._

_"Shut up," T.K. told me as he kissed me on the lips. It was a hard, tender kiss._

_I started to kiss him back. _

_T.K. pulled away. "I wanted to do that since we were nine."_

_"T.K., I shouldn't have done that…I'm with Davis," I looked away._

_"It can be our little secret; he doen't need to know," T.K. said._

_"But-"_

_"Did you enjoy it?"_

_"Well…Yes."_

_T.K. pulled me closer and kissed me again._

_I pushed him away and fell to the ground in tears. "No!"_

"Ah!" I jumped up. I was sweating from fear. I was in tears. "It was just a dream Kari…A dream."

I looked at the clock. I walked over to the closet. I grabbed something to wear and changed in the bathroom. After that I wrote a note to Tai and my mom telling them I went for a walk.

"That would never happen. T.K. would never kiss me; not on the lips," I told myself.

I walked down the road. I stopped when I got to T.K.'s apartment building.

"He wouldn't. I told him that we would never be more than friends," I remembered.

I kept on walking. I stopped when I reached Davis's apartment building. I walked up the steps and stopped at his door.

"Davis wouldn't be awake right now. I'll just wait for him," I decided.

I sat next to the door and closed my eyes.

"It was just a dream Kari; it will never come true," I said as I fell asleep.

"Kari?" someone's voice woke me up.

I slowly opened my eyes and looked around me. I looked up and saw Davis. I was confused.

"How long have you been here? What happened? Why are you here?" Davis asked.

"What time is it?" I countered.

"6:50AM," he told me.

"Oh no! My mom…Tai. I wrote them a note saying I was going on a walk, and I stopped here to wait for you. I must of fell asleep," I explained.

"What time did you leave your apartment?"

"About 4AM," I frowned.

Davis took my hands and helped me up. He saw that I had my bag. "Come on in, you can call them on our phone."

I walked inside with Davis. I saw June sitting at the table drinking a glass of water.

Davis handed me the phone. I slowly dialed the number for my house.

"Hello?" Tai answered.

"Tai, I'm at Davis's…I fell asleep waiting for him. I have my bag, so I'll talk to you when I get home after school," I told my brother.

"Kari, you had us worried. Why did you leave?"

"I'll tell you later."

"Ok, bye," Tai hung up the phone.

I hung up Davis's phone and handed it to him.

"You ok?" Davis asked me.

"Not really, but I'll tell you about that later," I looked over at June.

"Why is your little friend here Davis?" June demanded.

"Because she can be and she's my girlfriend!" Davis crossly said.

June walked over to me and scanned me.

"Leave her alone June," Davis told his sister.

I looked at the ground. "I better get going. Thanks for letting me use your phone Davis."

I started to walk away, but someone stopped me.

I turned around to see June holding me back.

"You're mad at Davis, aren't you? What did he do this time?" June questioned.

"I'm not mad at Davis. He did nothing wrong. Even if I was mad at Davis, it would be none of your buisiness. Anyways, don't you have something better to do than ask me these questions, like follow Matt around while you drool over his good looks," I said.

"I lost interest in Matt once I found out he was going out with someone," June frowned.

"Then, why don't you find someone else to stalk!" I yelled as I walked out the door.

"Kari!" Davis yelled after me.

I ran down the steps and started to trip. Someone caught my arm and stopped me from falling.

"Kari, are you ok?" Davis asked.

I was breathing heavily. "I'm sorry I hung up on you last night. I'm sorry if it hurt you. I'm sorry for anything I ever did wrong!"

"Kari, what is wrong?" Davis demanded.

I fell into his arms and started to cry. "It was just a dream, that means it didn't mean anything…Right Davis?"

"I guess, yeah," he sounded confused.

"I'll tell you what I'm talking about on the way. We need to get to school," I started to walk again. Davis followed me.


	5. Chapter 5

"What were you talking about?" Davis questioned.

"Last night I had a dream where T.K. was leaving. We were talking. I was telling him how we were really losing each other and that our friendship was dying. T.K. said that he was being foolish when he said that. He said that our friendship would never break. I asked him about Yolei, and he told me that his heart always belonged to me. I reminded him that he said he was over me and that he loved Yolei. T.K. ws saying things about he was just saying those things to make himself believe they were true, and that he would have to one day let his real feelings out. He said he loved me more than he could ever love Yolei. I reminded him that I was with you and I tried to tell him that we would never be anything other then friends. Before I could finish, T.K. told me to shut up, and he kissed me on the lips. I ended up kissing him back. He pulled away and said that he wanted to do that since we were nine. I told him that I shouldn't have done that. He said that you didn't have to know about it. He asked me if I enjoyed it. I ended up saying yes. Then, he pulled me closer and kissed me again. That time, I pushed him away and fell to the ground and yelled no. I was in tears. When I woke up, I was sweating and crying. I kept telling myself that it was just a dream, but it felt so much different," I told him.

"Kari, you're going to feel that way for awhile. When T.K. leaves, you're going to feel like your world is crashing down on you. Nothing's going to help the pain…You'll just one day get over it. It's not going to be easy. It never is. Even when Willis left to go back to America you were in tears. When T.K. leaves, you're going to feel that hurt, but it's going to take longer to get over it; some people don't. So, if kissing T.K. on the lips is the only way to keep the pain from coming, Kari, you kiss the boy like there is no tomorrow. You do whatever you need to do to help the pain. If you need to yell at someone, you can yell at me. If you need to hit something…You can use my pillow. If you need to scream, go ahead and scream. And, for the most important thing, if you need to cry, I will always have a free shoulder for you," Davis said.

We stopped in front of the school doors.

"Davis, this scares me more than the Dark World does," I whispered.

"You'll make it through," Davis said.

"Why couldn't T.K. and Yolei break up? I could have fixed that!" I yelled.

Davis opened the door. "Come on."

We walked into our classroom. T.K. was sitting in his desk. His face was lying on it.

I walked up to him.

"T.K., how did your night go?" I asked.

"It was the worse night in my whole entire life," T.K. mumbled.

I softly rubbed his back. "Did you lie to me when you said you were over me?"

T.K. quickly rose his head and looked at me. "What would make you think that?"

"He still likes you," Davis told me.

T.K. covered his face. "I'm a terrible friend and a terrible boyfriend!"

"Don't say that T.K.! You can't blame yourself…You can't control your heart," I told the boy.

"Don't kill yourself over it," Davis said.

T.K. lifted his head and looked at us. His eyes were red and tears dripped down his face.

I quickly hugged him. "And, things were just getting better."

"I'm going to lose all the things I love," T.K. told me.

"Our friendship will always last. I don't care how many oceans, lakes, or rivers come between us! Our friendship will always last!" I yelled.

"What about Yolei?"

"You guys were made for each other…Nothing and no one is going to get in the way of that; I'll make sure of that!"

"When are you leaving?" Davis questioned.

T.K. frowned. "Friday."

"Ok, then here's the plan. Today we're skipping detention, same with Thrusday. Friday, none of us are going to school. We're spending the rest of the time with you. Maybe we can even skip school tomorrow…Maybe even get Ken and all the other guys to skip too. Of course we'd have to get it okayed by our parents, but I don't think it will be much of a problem," Davis decided.

"I think that is a great idea. T.K., I have one final question for you…Did you tell Matt?" I asked.

T.K. nodded his head. "Right after I called you and before I called Davis. He was the second person on my list. Yolei would have been, but I was too scared to call her."

"I can't believe this is real-" I stopped when the door to the classroom quickly opened.

Yolei walked in and scanned the room. She saw us and walked over.

"Yolei, you shouldn't be here, you're going to be late," T.K. told the girl.

"I don't care! Let me be late…This is way more important than school will ever be!" Yolei yelled.

"But Yolei, I don't want you to get in trouble…Not because of this."

Yolei looked away. "Words could not even start to describe the way I felt when Kari gave me that phone call. As the tears fell down my face, I could only ask myself why, why did you have to leave, after what happened, I didn't think anything would ever get in our way again. Now, you're moving across the world to America. I didn't know that you and Matt had different dads. I didn't know anything that Kari told me last night. I understood that you were scared, I was too. I wanted to call you, but I could have never told you how I felt, not over the phone, not then. After I got off the phone, I stayed in my room for the rest of the night. I tried to get sleep, but every time I did fall asleep, I had another terrible nightmare. I did finally rest for a few hours after I cried myself to sleep when I thought about what my life would be like without you."

"You weren't the only person crying yourself to sleep. I ended up doing the same, but when I woke up from my dream, I took a walk. I passed your apartment building…I ended up walking up to Davis's door. I sat to wait for him, but I fell asleep. It's a terrible shame that T.K. has to leave. Worse of all, it was right after you guys started to get better," I frowned.

"Right."

The door opened again. This time, Matt was the one walking through the door.

Matt sat down in a desk by us. "I can't believe Mom would do this to any of us. She's taking you away from you girlfriend, your best friend, your brother, and all your other friends. How could anyone do that? What is so important that she has to move to America?"

"T.K., you didn't tell him why," I whispered in T.K.'s ear.

"There's a reason, but Mom told me not to tell you," T.K. said.

"I'm your brother; I should be able to know everything!" Matt yelled.

"Matt…She found my real father," T.K. softly said.

"I guess she really did love him more than she did my dad. No wonder she only took you. No wonder she didn't care if we never saw each other again," Matt frowned.

"I never thought about that," T.K. said as the classroom filled with kids.

Josh walked up to us.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Josh asked.

T.K. stood up. "You're going to need to partner up with Al for the project. I won't be here Monday. I won't be here Friday either."

"Why? Where are you going?"

"I'm moving to America."

Josh frowned. "What about your life here? After all that stuff you told me yesterday…About having a great girlfriend and having a really caring brother…Why would you leave?"

"He really didn't have a say in the whole thing. Our mom found his real dad, so they're leaving to go to him," Matt told the both.

"You're Matt Ishida…What are you doing in this school…You're in high school!"

"I'm T.K.'s brother," Matt tried to smile.

"Some people just couldn't wait until after school to see him," Yolei explained.

"And, if you don't mind me asking, who are you?" Josh questioned.

"I'm Yolei Inoue."

"You're T.K.'s girlfriend, but I've never seen you around the school."

"I don't go to this school anymore."

"Oh."

"You guys better get going," Davis told Matt and Yolei.

"Davis is right, you're going to be real late for school," I agreed.

"Yes, very late," Mrs. Shing crossly said.

Everyone turned to look at the teacher.

"Yamato Ishida and Miyako Inoue, why are you here in my classroom? Both of you graduated from this school. Neither of you should be here," Mrs. Shing told them.

"We have very good reasons for being here Mrs. Shing!" Matt quickly said.

"Explain."

"Because Matt is T.K.'s brother and I'm his girlfriend…If that isn't enough for you, I don't care! Why we are here is more important than any class or teacher. More important than anything you could teach. If you don't believe me, I bet anyone of us would be more than happy to explain to you," Yolei said.

"Then someone better start explaining."

Everyone looked at me. I stared at my friends and frowned. "Friends are the key to life. Without them you will be lonely and sour. They are always there for you. Then, you have family, an important element in life. There is this thing we called destiny, some say it is written for you, others say you get to choose it. I believe both…You have to choose the written path, one is good, the other is bad. Sometimes you can't tell. What I'm really trying to say is, is it really right to take someone from their home and friends just because you found someone that was once part of the family? Someone that was never there. T.K. is moving, and each of us are an important element for his life. I'm his best friend, Yolei is his girlfriend, Matt is his brother, Davis and Josh are his friends. Is it really right to stop us from talking when he's moving across an ocean to a new place, to America. No it isn't. So if you don't like the fact that we're talking to each other and that Yolei and Matt are here too…You can just deal with it because right now, this is the most important thing in our lives!"

Mrs. Shing crossed her arms and tapped her foot.

T.K. stood up and smiled. "And if you're mad at Kari for yelling at you, you better be mad at all of us. We don't stand as a single person, we stand together as a team!"

"I'm with both of them; we're standing together as a team, not as a line of people," Davis agreed.

"Are you guys done?" Mrs. Shing asked.

"Nope, this is just the beginning!" Yolei decided.

"Yolei and Matt, call your school and tell them you won't be coming in today. Your reasoning is because your 8th grade teacher requested to see you. I'm not going to make any of you guys do the biography project. That will include Al. T.K., write a list of your friends names. I will call their teachers and send them to the gym," Mrs. Shing told us.

Yolei and Matt walked over to the phone.

"Can these people be in other schools…In a different town?" T.K. asked.

"I'll see what I can do," Mrs. Shing smiled.

I handed T.K. a piece of paper and a pen. "Start writing."

"Right! Cody Hida, Liz, Joe Kido, Lilly, Tai Kamiya, Izzy Izumi, Sora Takenouchi, Mimi Tachikawa, Sidney, Ken Ichijouji, and Jordan…Should I put K.C. and Terry?" T.K. questioned.

"It's up to you T.K.; it's your choice," Davis told the boy.

"I won't…Did I get everyone?" T.K. handed me the paper.

I smiled. "Everyone that isn't here."

T.K. took the paper from me and gave it to Mrs. Shing. He walked back over to us.

"Mrs. Shing said to go to the gym, and that we don't have to go to detention anymore," T.K. said.

"No detention is great, but that won't fix this," I frowned.

"Josh and Al are coming with us. It's not going to be that bad Kari," T.K. told me.

"I guess your right…I'll have friends with me here, but you won't. At least you're closer to Willis…I guess," I tried to smile, but it was too hard.

"Come on Kari," Davis took my hand and pulled me out of the room.

T.K., Yolei, Matt, Josh, and Al followed behind us.

"Mrs. Shing is being nice to you guys, you're pretty lucky T.K.; she must have turned soft," Matt said as we walked into the gym.

"You never told him you got detention, did you?" I asked T.K.

"I might have forgotten to mention that," T.K. laughed.

"Ok, we're going to tell you the good things about you leaving and the bad things," Davis decided.

"There isn't anything good about T.K. leaving," Yolei told him.

"Good reasons are, no more detention, no biography project, and getting out of school for a few days. The bad things are, we're losing a friend, we're losing a friend, we're losing a friend, and did I mention…We're losing a friend," Davis explained.

"You sure do know how to make a boy feel special," T.K. smiled.

"To some, T.K. is just a friend, to another, he was a boyfriend, to me, he was my best friend. So, we are losing more than a friend, we're losing a part of our lives, and a piece of our hearts," I frowned.

T.K. was blushing. "You really know how to make me feel bad about moving, but you know even better how to embarrass a guy."

"Kari, you should have waited for everyone to get here before you said that. It was really touching. I bet everyone would have loved to here that," Matt told me.

"I can repeat it when they get here," I decided.

"That sounds like a good idea," Al agreed.

"What sounds like a good idea?" I heard Sora ask from the gym door.

"Sora!" T.K. smiled.

"Hey there, I heard the bad news," Sora said as she walked towards the boy.

"Are the others coming?" T.K. questioned.

"Yeah…They're just slow," she laughed and turned to Matt. "You had Sidney worried sick! Why didn't you come to school!"

"Sorry Sora, I had to see my brother," Matt explained.

She frowned. "I know. It just made everyone a little scared."

The others walked in.

"T.K.!" Mimi came running up to the boy and hugged him. "I can't believe you're leaving…And right after I moved back."

"It's…Ok…Mimi…But…You're…Choking…Me!" T.K. tried to break free.

Mimi let go. "I'm sorry, I guess I don't know my own strength!"

"It's ok, I can breath now," he smiled.

I saw Tai slowly walking towards me. I hid behind Josh. "Don't let him see me."

"Ok," Josh whispered.

"Move," Tai told the boy.

"Why would you want me to do that?" Josh asked.

"I need to talk to my sister."

"I don't know who you're talking about."

"Kari Kamiya…She's hiding behind you."

"You can't prove it!"

Tai started to laugh. "I can if you move."

Josh looked around the room and stepped to the side. "Sorry Kari."

"It's ok," I frowned.

"Who are you anyways?" Tai asked Josh.

"I'm Josh…I met Kari after she politely hit me," Josh explained.

"Right…Kari…Why did you leave?" Tai questioned me.

"I had to get out of the house, I couldn't go back to bed," I said.

"You scared Mom and me," Tai told me.

"Oh! You're Tai Kamiya…The guy who got hit by the car last year during a soccer club meeting!" Josh quickly said.

Tai looked at his wrists. "I almost forgot about that."

"Anyways Tai, you and Mom were worried and all that good stuff…At least I called," I smiled.

"You called from Davis's! You fell asleep outside his apartment door!" Tai yelled.

"Well, right now I don't think that is really important!" I shouted.

"It is very important! You don't know what could have happened to you!"

"Well, nothing did happen to me! And for the record…T.K. is much more important than me or you or anyone else to me right now!"

Tai put his hands on my shoulders and shook me. "I know that, but that doesn't me I still can't worry about you!"

I pushed him away and started to walk away. "Leave me alone Tai! You'll never understand what I'm going through!"

I walked up to T.K., he was talking to Cody.

T.K. quickly looked at me.

"Kari, what's wrong?" Cody asked me.

I fell into T.K.'s arm and started to cry. "Tai's a jerk. An insensitive jerk that will never understand anything that I ever go through. Not this, not the Dark World, not anything."

"What happen Kari?" T.K. demanded.

"I woke up from a dream and took a walk and I ended up falling asleep in front of Davis's door and Tai was yelling at me because of it," I explained.

"Was it a bad dream? What was it about?" T.K. questioned.

I looked him in the eyes. "It was a bad dream…And it was about you and me."

T.K. scanned me. "Dreams are dreams, they don't mean anything."

"I don't want you to leave," I whispered.

"I don't want to leave either, but I don't have a choice," T.K. told me.

"Why was I first on your list?" I asked.

T.K. hesitated.

"T.K., I need to know," I said.

"Uh…Come into the hall," T.K. decided.

We quickly went out in the hall.

"T.K., will you tell me now?" I questioned.

T.K. looked around the room. "After what happened last year between us…I never thought our friendship would be broken or be lost. After what you told me in the hallway…After all of that stuff we went through…I never thought I would lose you."

"That doesn't really explain why I was the first person you called," I told him.

"I guess you were first on my list because you're the only one that I really thought deserved to know…Or maybe it's because I lied last year when I said I was over you. I'm not that sure," he frowned.

"You know I only have friendship for you," I reminded him.

"I know, and I'm with Yolei, but my heart will-" T.K. started.

"Don't say it! Don't say it! Just stop there…I don't want to know anymore!" I yelled.

"I was just going to say that my heart will always have spot for you," he whispered.

I stared at him. "You were?"

"Yeah…What did you think I was going to say?"

"I thought you were going to say that your heart would always belong to me."

"What would make you think that?"

"The dream I had last night."

"Kari, we're going to need to talk about this…Do you think you'll be able to come over for dinner at my house tonight?" T.K. wondered.

"Dinner…Tonight? I'll be there," I smiled.

"We'll figure all of this out, and things will finally be straight," T.K. smiled.

I nodded my head and saw Ken, Jordan, Joe, and Lilly walking towards us. "Right"

"I told you guys I knew where I was going," Jordan smiled when she saw us.

"Hey guys, I'm glad you could make it," T.K. told them.

"I had a major test that I got out of…Thank you; I so wasn't ready," Lilly said.

"Just be glad I was in this school last year…If I wasn't, we would have been totally lost," Jordan explained to us.

"Why? Joe was in this school," I remembered.

"Yeah, in 8th grade…That was over four years ago," Joe frowned.

"But, where are the others, and shouldn't you guys be in the gym?" Ken asked.

T.K. nervously laughed. "Yeah, they're in the gym, we were just going in."

Lilly opened the gym door and walked in. "Come on."

Yolei walked up to us. "Kari, everyone is here…You should tell them what you said earlier."

"Of course," I smiled. I walked into the center of the gym.

"Excuse me," I quietly said.

"Let me do the honor," Matt told me. "Hey everyone! Shut your mouths! Kari has something important to say!"

"Thanks Matt," I frowned.

"All eyes are on you," he smiled.

I looked at everyone. "Today we are gathered together in this gym for T.K. To some, T.K. is just a friend, to another, he is a boyfriend, to me, he was my best friend. So, we are losing more than a friend, we're losing a part of our lives, and a piece of our hearts."

Izzy walked up to me. "And to some he was a brother. A person we can't ever replace."

"So, let us remember what happened the past year with T.K.," Mimi decided.

"We had Willis come and visit," Yolei yelled out.

"We had some hearts broken!" Cody remembered.

"We had crushes told and secrets revealed," I pointed out.

"We had Mimi moving back to Japan," Tai said.

"We had Tai get hit by a car," Sora reminded us.

"We had that huge concert!" Matt blurted.

"And we all found a girlfriend or a boyfriend," Ken smiled.

"I guess the only thing that is left is that our new friends know our secrets," I decided.

Ken walked up to me. "If you want to, I'll support you all the way."

I looked around the room and nodded my head. "It's time."

"Kari, just take it one step at a time," Izzy told me.

"Listen up people. Kari and I haven't been so truthful to the new comers. We have a couple of secrets that we need to tell you," Ken said.

Jordan looked confused.

"Um…Lets start with something that isn't too big…Ken and I both suffer from depression," I confessed to everyone.

"And the other thing is probably bigger to us, but we'll need Davis up here," Ken said.

Davis walked up to us. "Are you sure you guys are ready for this?"

"After finding out T.K. is moving, I'm ready for anything," I told him.

Davis nodded his head and pulled up his sleeve. I pulled off the glove that covered my right arm. I looked at the palm of my hand and noticed that the cut was gone.

"Davis, it isn't there," I whispered.

He looked at his arm. "Neither is mine."

I walked over to Ken and moved his hair so I could see the back of his neck. "Gone."

"Um…We'll be back in a few minutes, we need to, uh, talk about something!" Ken pulled us into the hallway.

"I think I have an idea about why the cuts aren't there," I said.

"What?" Davis questioned.

"The day they came back, I was blaming myself for everything. When the cuts were gone, I wasn't blaming myself anymore. I think they have a connection," I explained.

"That sounds good…I think you're the link to all the cuts. Your feelings and emotions trigger them," Ken agreed.

"Maybe we should wait to tell them about the Dark World; one day it will just slip out, and they'll ask, and we'll explain," I decided.

"Sounds like a great plan," Davis smiled.

We walked back into the gym.

"So, we're waiting for this other secret," Jordan told us.

"That secret, well, before I really got to know you…I didn't like you because you were taking time away from me and my best friend," Davis smiled.

"You're lying, but I'll let it go…For now," she laughed.

"One day we'll tell you, just, today isn't the day," Ken frowned.

Jordan shook her head and looked at me. "I give him my love, and he keeps secrets from me."

"Just give us time, then we'll tell you all about it. I promise Jordan," I smiled.

"Right," Ken nodded.

"So Davis…You didn't like me at first," Jordan said.

"About that, I'll tell you all about it," Davis decided as they walked off.

"I never thought the Dark World was so confusing," I told Ken.

"You're talking about the Dark World, just saying the name confuses me," Ken admitted.

I looked over and saw Al staring at us. I looked at Ken. "Told you that one day it would just slip out. I just didn't think it would be so soon."

"What's her name?" Ken asked.

"Al."

"Hey Al, come over here, we're going to need to talk," Ken called her.

Al slowly walked over to us.

"I didn't mean to hear your conversation, you guys were just kind of being loud," Al admitted.

"You don't need to do the explaining…We do," Ken decided.

"Yeah, when you were listening to us you must have heard us say the Dark World," I said.

"I did," she agreed.

"The Dark World is where Kari and I go sometimes when we touch," Ken tried to explain.

"I'll explain it better. The Dark World is a place Ken and I would go to when we would sometimes touch last year. We think it is a part of our minds and that we created the place because of our depression," I told her.

"Oh, now I remember, it was when we had the same though and we were touching. We also had cuts from this place, but they randomly come and go," Ken smiled.

"Ok, I think I understand," Al nodded her head and walked away.

"That was awkward," Ken frowned.

"Just a little," I agreed.

"So, how are you taking T.K.'s move?" Ken asked me.

"I'm going to go over to his apartment for dinner tonight, and I'm going to feel so out of place there," I admitted.

"He's your best friend, why would you feel out of place?"

"I never went over to his house for dinner, and I never really was there when his mom was, so I don't want any weird conversation topics to come up…Also, T.K. has some things he needs to tell me, which kind of makes me shaky."

"I'm sure everything will be fine, don't worry so much about it," Ken told me.

"I hope you're right," I smiled.

"Come on Kari, be a little optimistic," Ken said.

"I'm trying my hardest," I blushed.

"Come on, the others are having fun, we should too," Ken decided.

He pulled me over to Cody, Liz, Yolei, T.K., and Jordan.

"Hey Kari," Liz smiled.

"Hey," I softly said.

"Something's wrong Kari, what is it?" T.K. asked me.

"I'm fine," I lied.

"Lying doesn't get you anywhere in life. Why don't you tell us the truth?" Cody questioned.

"It's nothing, really," I frowned.

Jordan walked up to me and put her hand on my cheek. "Are you sure? You're looking pale and you're burning up."

"Kari, Kari, Kari, no, this can't be happening. Come on Kari, you're sitting down," T.K. told me.

"Do you think it's possible T.K.?" Yolei asked him.

"It's pretty likely," he frowned.

"Guys, I'm fine…Really," I tried to smile.

"She's not going to come easy," Cody told them.

"Ladies, stay here while we bring Kari to a chair," T.K. said.

"We'll be right back. Ok, come on Kari," Ken picked me off the ground.

"I have no idea about what's going on," Liz said.

"Neither do I, but I've learned that both Kari and Ken have some kind of weird bond that they won't tell me about, so I've learned to trust them," Jordan explained.

"We'll be back as soon as we can," Cody smiled.

"Yolei, keep them entertained, we'll take care of Kari," T.K. said as we walked off.


	6. Chapter 6

Ken placed me on the ground in a corner.

"Am I punished?" I asked.

"Cody, get Izzy and Davis," T.K. instructed.

Cody left us.

"Why didn't you tell me?" T.K. demanded.

"Why didn't I tell you what?" I countered.

T.K. sat next to me and motioned Ken to do the same. T.K. placed his hands on my cheeks. "I didn't mean to do this to you…Again."

I looked around and saw Cody, Davis, and Izzy walking up to us.

"What's wrong with Kari?" Davis asked.

"She's pale and she feels real hot," Ken told him.

"Do you think it's like last year? Like when she told Davis she liked him?" Izzy questioned.

"Yep, and I probably did it to her…Again," T.K. frowned.

"And Ken said I should be positive," I looked at T.K.

Davis scanned me and pulled his hand out. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Cody wondered.

"Kari?" Davis pressured.

"Two," I smiled.

"Kari, Davis is holding up three fingers," Ken told me.

"What!" I was shocked. I held up my hands, they were blurry.

"Joe!" Izzy called.

Joe ran up to us.

"What is it Izzy?" Joe asked.

"Kari's vision is impaired, she's pale, and her face is burning…Do you happen to have a thermometer with you?" Izzy questioned.

"It's your lucky day," Joe stuck it under my tounge. "Her temperature is normal."

"Not this again," Davis frowned.

"I'm fine Davis," I stood up. "See, I perfectly fine." I started to walk away, but ended up collapsing to the floor.

"Really? Then why did you collapse to the floor?" Davis wondered.

I looked around. "I haven't eaten anything all day, I'm weak."

"Why won't you just tell us the truth?" T.K. questioned.

"Because you don't want to know the truth, and I don't really know the truth," I stood up again.

"If you take another step, you're just going to fall back down," Ken told me.

I started to take a step. I started to fall and closed my eyes…Someone caught me.

"Are you ok? You almost fell straight to the ground," a boy's voice asked. I couldn't tell who.

I slowly opened my eyes. I stared at the person holding me.

"I guess I don't get an answer or a thank you," Matt smiled.

"Fine, thank you…What happened?" I asked.

"You fell, and Matt caught you," Cody explained.

I looked around the gym. "I-I need to talk to Yolei. I-I have to tell her something."

"I don't think you'll be able to make it over to her," Ken told me.

"I have to."

"You tried to walk twice, and both times you failed to take one step without falling," Izzy reminded me.

"You don't understand, this is very important!"

"How are you going to get there?" Davis asked.

"Um…I'll, I'll…find a way."

"Where is Yolei?" Matt asked.

"Over by Sidney and Lilly," Joe pointed at them.

Matt was still holding onto me.

"I have to talk to her," I told them.

"Ok, if it's so important, I'll bring you there," Matt smiled.

"How are you going to do that?" Cody asked.

"I bet it's going to be the same way Ken brought Kari over here," T.K. said.

"You better not be heavy," Matt picked me off the ground. "You guys stay here, I'll be back. Hopefully…I won't drop Kari."

"Don't even think about dropping her!" Davis yelled.

"Ok, I won't," Matt walked off. He carried me over to Yolei.

"This is your stop," Matt placed me on the floor.

"Why were you carrying her Matt? I think Kari's capable of walking herself," Sidney laughed.

"Actually, she couldn't. Kari fell twice trying to walk," Matt smiled.

"Why? What's wrong with her? Shouldn't you have someone look at her? Like Joe! He's in college to become a doctor…He should know something!" Lilly quickly said.

"He was over with Kari and some of the other guys, I'm guessing he did look at her," Matt said.

Yolei sat next to me and scanned me. "Um…Could you guys leave us alone for a little bit?"

"Of course, come on, lets go talk to Tai…He seems lonely over there with Sora," Sidney decided.

Matt, Sidney, and Lilly walked off.

"What's wrong Kari?" Yolei asked me.

I stared at her. "It's T.K."

"What did he do?" Yoeli wondered.

"He still likes me," I whispered in her ear.

Yolei smiled. "I know, T.K. told me. He's actually being pretty honest this year. Well…He told me over the summer…When we were in America."

"He told you…And he just told me," I stood up. "Ok then. Now, I have to go over to his house for dinner so he can explain this to me. Ok, alright. I think I understand."

"That's what was bothering, T.K. liking you still. You have bigger things to be worried about, like the fact that he's moving," Yolei told me.

I nervously laughed. "Yeah, T.K.'s moving…I almost forgot."

Yolei stood up. "He is, but somehow, I know you'll find a way to deal with it."

"The only question is how do I do that?" I questioned.

"The only thing I can think of is kissing him good bye…So, if kissing T.K. is the only way to ease the pain, then I give you permission to kiss him in whatever way is necessary," she smiled.

"That's what Davis told me," I smiled.

"Come on, you seem better. Lets not let T.K. still liking you both either of us. We need to have fun, and we need to give T.K. the best last few days here as possible!" Yolei took my arm and pulled me towards the others.

As Yolei and I walked around, Tai stopped us.

"Your boyfriend's brother's girlfriend is really getting on my nerves!" Tai pointed at Yolei.

"My boyfriend's brother's girlfriend…Are you talking about Sidney?" Yolei questioned.

"Yes I'm talking about Sidney!" Tai yelled.

"What did she do?" I asked.

"She came over by Sora and me and started to bug me," he explained.

Yolei smiled. "She just didn't want you to get lonely over there with Sora."

"Sidney did it on purpose? Oh, she'll pay," Tai stormed off.

"He's crazy," I frowned.

"Very," Yolei agreed.

We kept on walking until we met up with Cody and some other members of our group.

"I see you're feeling better," Cody smiled.

"Much better, thank you for noticing," I said.

"Kari, you also regained your color," Jordan pointed out.

"All she needed to do was talk to me," Yolei smiled.

"Don't get all full of yourself Yolei," I laughed.

"So, are you going to tell us what was going on, or are we going to be left in the dark?" Liz asked.

"Go ahead Cody, tell them what was going on," I said.

Cody scanned me. "Oh, I see! T.K. still likes you, and you didn't know he told Yolei! So, it really was his fault."

"He's good," Yolei pointed out.

"It was either that or the Dark Wor-" Cody stopped.

"Yeah, that or the Dark World," I agreed without thinking about why Cody stopped.

"Dark World?" Liz questioned.

"That's the bond you and Ken have…Isn't it?" Jordan asked.

I nodded my head. "The Dark World Ken and I would go sometimes. Ken, Davis, and myself all had cuts from this place. Whenever Ken and I would touch and think the same thought at the same time, we would go to the Dark World. That is also how we got out. At the end of last year, we thought we destroyed it, but it wasn't really gone. Davis and Ken think my thoughts, feelings, and emotions trigger the cuts, which triggers the Dark World. I think it is part of our mind that we created. I'm still not sure why Davis is part of it, but Ken and I both suffer from depression, and because this place is dark and dreary, we decided that is why it's there, because of the depression we're suffering from."

"I could never handle that," Liz frowned.

"I don't think anyone by themselves could, Ken and I ended up having each other in this place. It made it easier…Of course that was after the fact that Ken was able to control himself in the Dark World," I explained to them.

"No wonder you guys are so mysterious and quiet. That sounds like an incredibly hard thing to go through. This Dark World and depression. I don't think I could ever do that," Jordan told me.

"I wasn't alone, I had friends to help me through each step."

"And they are great friends," Liz smiled.

"Well, I better go talk to Ken. I need to tell him that I know about this Dark World," Jordan smiled as she walked off.

I looked at Yolei. "I better tell Davis and T.K. that I'm better. They'd like to know."

"Right…I'll come with you," Yolei decided as we walked off.

"So, you're the one who broke the window last year. Yet, yesterday was the first day you ever had detention. That's pretty hard to believe Davis!" Josh laughed as we walked up.

"So, who's this guy?" Yolei asked.

"I'm Josh," he smiled.

"And how do you know so much about me?"

"A stupid class project…The only thing T.K. could talk about was you."

"That's because T.K.'s a softy," I said.

"I'm not soft," T.K. protested.

"Must I refresh your memory by reading your note to you?" Yolei asked.

"No, there's no need to do that!"

"To my sweet Yolei," I smiled.

"Don't embarrass the guy," Davis said.

"You're no fun," Yolei frowned.

"Yeah, I want to hear this," Josh smiled.

"No! You really, really, really, really, really, really, real-" T.K. tried.

"Get on with it!" Davis yelled.

"Really don't want to hear it," T.K. quickly said.

"I don't know, it sounds like it was a good note," Josh said.

Yolei took a piece of paper out of her pocket. "Here, you can read it!" She handed the piece of paper to Josh.

Josh unfolder the paper. "To my sweet Yolei. I didn't mean to scare you with the first note that was given. I don't want another girl; I just want to make you happy. I felt like you didn't want me. I thought I wasn't good enough. My words turned out wrong. Now we're in a fight. I only want you, but I don't deserve your love. If you want to keep me, I'll think it's a mistake. I don't want to leave you. I just thought you would want someone older. Someone more mature. Someone that wasn't me. Someone that really deserved your love. A friend told me that I was the only one for you. That my words were confusing. I found out I was making a mistake. I should have never told you that you could break up with me. I just thought you deserved the option. Love, Takeru 'T.K.' Takaishi."

"Was it really necessary to read it out loud?" T.K. questioned.

"Yes."

"You girls are right, T.K. is a total softy!" Davis laughed.

"So are you," I told him.

"Explain."

"Let me just start with your favoite quote which is 'I love you Davis', said by me," I smiled.

"Such a softy," T.K. mumbled.

"Oh, and one of my favorites, 'You can shine with me', said by Davis," I said.

"Oh, now that's cute," Yolei softly said.

Davis smiled and started to blush. "Ok, so I'm a little soft."

"Should I keep on going?" I asked him.

"I think you should," T.K. said.

"I'll e-mail you a list," I told him.

"You're the greatest."

"Kari!" Davis moaned.

"Davis, it's ok, the things you say to Kari when no one else is around…It's sweet. Why can't you be like that when it's not only you two?" Yolei asked.

"Because Kari always ends up saying something about my eyes," Davis explained.

"Really? Why your eyes?" Yolei asked.

"Ok, I'll show you, stand here," I pulled Yolei in front of Davis. A light was shining in Davis's eyes. They glowed brightly.

"Oh, wow, they do look pretty beautiful in the bright light,"Yolei smiled.

"If you think that's beautiful, you should see them in the moon light. They sparkle so brightly…It's amazing," I told her.

"Really? That sounds wonderful," Yolei said.

"Hey! You're making your boyfriend jealous!" T.K. yelled.

Yolei took his hat and winked at me. I snatched Davis's googles. We put them on.

"Any bright ideas under that fancy hat?" I asked Yolei as I flicked the hat.

"At least I'm trying Goggle Head!" Yolei pulled the goggles on my head to make them snap on my head. Then, she started to fix the hat on her head. "And don't make fun of my hat!"

"I think they might be mocking us," Davis frowned.

"You think?" T.K. frowned with him.

"We can trap him by using you as bait," Yolei told me.

"Me! Why do I have to be the one!" I yelled.

"We have to use some kind of bait that we can do without!" Yolei shouted.

"Oh yeah, well we can easily do without your hat!" I screamed.

T.K. looked at Davis. "You just always had to make fun of the hat, didn't you?"

"It was an easy target," Davis smiled.

"Yeah, so are your goggles," T.K. decided.

I handed Davis his goggles. "You never made fun of the goggles when they were Tai's."

Yolei handed T.K. his hat. "What's up with that?"

"Yeah? Why didn't you make fun of Tai?" Davis demanded.

"When Tai wore the goggles, I was nine, and he was 12; there was an age difference," T.K. explained to us.

"And you were a cry baby," I mentioned.

"I was brave when I was needed the most," he decided.

"If you say so," I smiled.

"T.K. was a cry baby?" Josh questioned.

"Oh, yeah. If you don't believe me you can ask Tai, Matt, Izzy, Sora, Joe, or Mimi. We all knew him since he was nine," I said.

Davis started to laugh and pointed at T.K. "You were a cry baby! Now that is what you call funny, very funny!"

"You're just as big of a baby," Yolei told him.

"Prove it!" Davis yelled.

Yolei snapped the goggles on his head.

Davis closed his eyes and started to rub his head. "That hurt…Hurry Kari, kiss it to make it better."

"Nobody wants to kiss your head," Josh frowned.

"I can give you many reasons why. Number one, you use too much hair gel, two, I don't think you ever take those goggles off…Except when someone uses them. Three, I'm not that sure if you wash your hair, four, no one knows where your hair has been, five-"

"T.K.! Enough already, we get it," I stopped T.K.

"You're right; anyways, Matt probably uses way more than Davis!" T.K. laughed.

"True," I agreed.

"And for the record, I don't wear the goggles in the shower, when I go to bed, when I'm playing in a soccer game with my team, and all those other things," Davis informed us.

"You guys are funny," Josh pointed out.

"You should seem them at home," Yolei smiled.

"But Kari and Davis alone…They aren't funny," T.K. said.

"Yeah, they kind of become all I love you this and I love you that. It sometimes gets scary," Yolei told him.

"Excuse me? And how would you know?" I demanded.

"I can tell by the way you act around him…And let us not forget the whole 'you can shine with me' phrase," she explained.

"That was Davis, not me," I said.

"You're just as sweet," T.K. said.

"Yeah, Davis, why don't you tell us what Kari does?" Yolei decided.

"Lets start with…Uh…I-I can't remember," Davis froze.

"Are you saying I don't do anything sweet?" I questioned.

"You-you…Made fun of my kissing!" Davis yelled.

Everyone turned and looked at him.

"I think I said that too loud," Davis frowned.

Tai, Sora, Sidney, and Matt walked up to us.

"I think you might have said that too loud Davis," Tai pointed out.

"Way to point out the obvious," I rolled my eyes.

"What did you say about his kissing Kari?" Sora asked me.

"It was Monday…I said that it tickled…It wasn't my fault…It really did tickle. Anyways, he's the one that said he loved me because I was a good kisser, " I explained.

"Bright one Einstein!" Yolei whacked Davis in the back of his head.

"I was joking!" Davis fell on his knees.

Matt sat next to Davis. "As long as you explained why you really loved her, you should be ok."

"No…I told her that she knew I loved her for more than that, and then Kari said that she did. Am I a terrible boyfriend?" Davis looked at them.

"Yeah, but for some reason, Kari doesn't care about that," Tai smiled.

"Tai! Davis is not a terrible boyfriend!" I yelled.

Davis stuck out his tounge at Tai; Tai did the same.

"And that was immature," Yolei pointed out.

"What is your point?" Tai questioned.

Yolei rolled her eyes. "I would explain it, but I don't think you'd understand."

"What bit you? You're acting like a jerk!" Tai yelled.

"At least I'm not making fun of my sister's boyfriend!" Yolei shouted.

"You don't have to have such a nasty attitude just because T.K.'s moving."

"Tai, you went too far," Sora frowned.

Yolei pushed Tai. She then got up in his face. "This has nothing to do with T.K. moving. You need to keep my relationship out of this!" Yolei stormed of in a different direction.

"Why did you do that Tai?" T.K. demanded.

Tai didn't answer him.

"You had no right saying those things to Yolei," T.K. said.

"I was just putting her in her place. What are you going to do about it?" Tai asked.

"I might have been scared of you when I was nine, but that was a long time ago. Things change…But you sure haven't! You still want to be the boss of everyone and everything. You think you're better than all of us. You think you can control us. No one other then Matt has ever stood up to you. No one ever put you in your place. No one gave you a reality check…Well, you surely do need one! I'm sick of the way you treat us. I hate how you think you rule us. You treat us as if we are lower class than you. As if we aren't as good as you. Here's your reality check Tai! You aren't better than us. You can't control us. You need to stop treating us as if you do…You're not the leader anymore Tai; we don't need you to lead us. You need to stop picking on people that are younger than you. There's no reason to make fun of any of us. Yolei wasn't being the jerk, you were!" T.K. yelled.

Tai started to raise his arm. He had a fist formed. "You have no right saying those things!"

Sora and Sidney held Tai back. Matt and Davis held T.K. I walked into the middle of them.

Tai and T.K. looked at me. They made me feel like I had to choose a side.

I made a fist with my right hand. "Both of you are being jerks. Tai, you're making T.K.'s last few days here terrible. T.K., instead of fighting with Tai, you should have been seeing if Yolei was ok. Neither of you know anything. You both need reality checks right now. You shouldn't have mentioned T.K. moving to Yolei…It hurts to hear those words. I know, she shouldn't have gotten up in your face, but she's very hot tempered. T.K. shouldn't have yelled either, but some of those things are true. We're all friends…We shouldn't be fighting all the time. And for some reason…I don't think either of you understand that."

Tai and T.K. stared at me.

"You need to see if Yolei is ok…Unless you don't care about your girlfriend," I looked at T.K.

"Ka-" T.K. tried.

"I am not the one you need to talk to," I quickly said.

T.K. walked off.

I turned to look at Tai. "You need to calm down sometimes. It might not look like any of us are scared, but I know it as a fact that Sora does not like seeing you like that. You need to learn how to walk away. I know it's hard, but you have to learn to be calmer."

Tai looked away.

I walked over to Davis. "Is your head ok?"

He smiled and nodded his head.

"Are you going to be ok Matt?" I questioned.

"About T.K.'s little blow out? He need to get his anger out, I'm just glad he stopped before he did any physical damage," Matt smiled.

"Sometimes words can hurt even more than physical pain. Tai, are you going to be ok? I know what T.K. said was a little mean, but you did kind of cross the line when you said that you were putting Yolei in her place," I looked at Tai.

"I think I'll be ok…I just hope I didn't do any damage," Tai frowned.

"You didn't lose your temper…Not too bad anyways," I sighed.

I noticed that Sora and Sidney were still holding on to Tai. I smiled and stared at them.

"You can let go, I'm not going to do anything," Tai told them.

They let go. "Sorry."

I looked at Davis. He was smiling at me.

"How are you Kari?" Davis asked me.

"Me? I'm fine, I'm used to this…I live with Tai," I explained.

"Which, we all feel sorry for you," Matt joked.

"Come on Matt, Tai isn't that terrible," Sora smiled.

"You're his girlfriend, you have to be nice to him," Davis said.

Sora started to laugh. "No I don't! I might be his girlfriend, but that doesn't mean I don't get mad at him. And don't even think he's my best friend."

"Yeah, my best friend is Izzy, not Sora. Sure, I might love her, but that doesn't mean she can't find me annoying," Tai pointed out.

"You told me yesterday that I was your best friend!" Matt yelled.

"And this is why we're not best friends with our boyfriends," Sidney smiled.

"You are," Tai told Matt.

"What? You said Izzy was your best friend," Matt was confused.

"You can have more than one best friend. Like me, Ken and Willis are my best friends," Davis explained to them.

"Yeah, and Yolei and T.K. are my best friends," I softly said.

"Mimi and Sidney are my best friends," Sora smiled.

"And…I'm not a good example for this," Sidney frowned.

"Ok then…We're going to leave you now," Matt pulled Sidney away.

"We're going to go with them. Um…Don't let me catch you guys kissing," Tai and Sora left.

"What losers. Why would we be kissing in a room full of people?" Davis questioned.

I quickly kissed Davis. "Because we want to."

"So, what was bothering you so much?" Davis asked me.

"The fact that T.K. still likes me. He told Yolei over the summer…When we were in America. I didn't know, and it kind of scared me. I hate the fact that people can't get over me. I don't like so many people liking me. Al, Liz, and Jordan know about the Dark World. Only two people don't know, and that's Josh and Lilly. Did I ever tell Josh I was sorry that I hit him? I have so many things I've done wrong this school year. Also…I'm sorry that all those guys were asking me to be their partner," I explained.

"Kari…You have nothing to be sorry for. If anything, I should be sorry," Davis smiled.

"Why?"

"I never told you why I really love you."

"Why do you love me?"

"You never care if I mess up, you know how to make me feel better, you always say something about my eyes, you never make fun of me, you care about me, you make me feel like I'm worth something, you taught me the meaning of my life, you showed me that it's ok to be different, you make me feel special, you love me back, I've know you since we were 10, and most important, because I can."

I started to blush. "That was the sweetest thing I have ever heard. I love you Davis. You're truly the best person I've ever met."

"No problem," Davis softly said.

I closed my eyes. "I love you Davis."

"I love you too Kari," Davis told me.

"How much?"

"As much as possible and even more."

I grabbed Davis's hand. "Come on, we have people to talk to, things to do, lets not waste time, but let it be known, I will always love you."

"You're a poet and I didn't even know it," Davis joked.

I started to laugh as I pulled him towards Mimi and Izzy.

"What's so funny?" Mimi asked.

"Oh, nothing, Davis is being his normal weird self, but I wouldn't want it any other way," I smiled.

"I'm not weird…Ok, maybe a little, but not a lot," Davis decided.

"If you say so. How are you feeling Kari?" Izzy questioned me.

"I'm feeling pretty good," I said.

"What was wrong in the first place?" Mimi wondered.

"Nothing that Kari couldn't fix!" Davis laughed.

"What problem can't Kari fix?" Mimi wondered.

I looked around the room and spotted T.K. talking to Yolei. "I might be able to fix break ups, and I can make fighting stop. I can get people to tell me the truth. I can do many other things to solve problems like that, but the one type of problem I cannot solve is when a friend moves away. That is something no one can change. No one can make their parents change their minds. It's not possible, but for some reason we never stop trying…So, I'm not going to stop either. Even if I know that no one can change this from happening, I don't think there is any reason that we cannot try to stop it anyways. I just hope what I do will end up working."

"What are you planning to do?" Izzy asked.

"Beg T.K.'s mom not to move," I smiled.

"You think that will work?" Davis questioned.

"I'm willing to try anything right now. If begging her is the last thing to do, I'll do it. First I'll ask and tell her why she shouldn't pull T.K. away from Japan, and if that doesn't work, I'll start the begging. Hopefully, one of these things will work," I explained.

"So, when are you going to do this plan of yours?" Mimi wondered.

"Tonight, when I go over to T.K.'s for dinner," I said.

"Why are you going over to T.K.'s for dinner?" Davis demanded.

"Because I can, and he asked me to. Why…Don't you trust me?"

"I never said I didn't trust you…It was just a question."

"You guys seem like a loving couple," Izzy mumbled.

"Don't they! You can just see the love in their eyes. It's amazing!" Mimi smiled.

Izzy looked confused. "I was joking, but if you say so…"

"So, what were you guys doing before we came and bothered you?" I asked.

"Nothing…We were being bored…Like always," Mimi frowned.

"Are you saying I'm boring?" Izzy demanded.

"Only when you are in computer dork mode!" Mimi smiled.

"Thanks Mimi, love you too!" Izzy crossed his arms.

"Everyone does," she winked.

"You're good," I laughed.

"She's Mimi, you only need two words to describe her; pink and crazy," Davis decided.

"I am not crazy!" Mimi yelled.

"I'd like to disagree with that," I softly said.

"Ok, maybe a little crazy, but not all the time."

"Ok, we'll give you that," Izzy smiled.

Joe and Lilly walked up to us.

"How are you doing Kari?" Joe asked me.

"I'm much better than before," I smiled.

"And she can walk without falling," Izzy joked.

"Oh, shut up," I frowned.

"Isn't she a charmer?" Davis laughed.

"You're not any better," Mimi mumbled.

"Wow, this sure is a happy crowd," Lilly smiled.

I looked around and saw Al and Josh talking and pointing at me. "Come on Davis, lets go talk to Al and Josh, they don't know many people here."

"Uh, ok," Davis said.

"We'll talk to you guys later," Mimi decided.

"Ok, later," I pulled Davis towards Al and Josh.

Josh stared at me as Davis and I walked closer.

"Hey guys," I smiled.

"Um…Hi," Josh softly said.

"What's wrong with you? You seem…Shy," Davis pointed out.

"Uh…Sorry," Josh looked away.

"You told him," I looked at Al.

"I'm really sorry, it slipped out," Al explained.

"What slipped out?" Davis questioned.

I took a deep breath. "The Dark World. Everyone knows…Everyone other then Lilly."

"Where was I when this happened?" Davis demanded.

"It was an hour ago…Don't worry about it," I smiled.

"Ok then…So, this is why Josh is acting shy. Kari, fix that," he told me.

"Huh? No, it's, it's ok, I-I'm fine. Th-there's no need t-to fix anything. R-really," Josh nervously laughed. He was avoiding contact with my eyes.

"You're the first person who is actually scared of this Dark World…And that means you're scared of me," I frowned.

"I never said that," Josh said.

"I can tell. You're avoiding contact with my eyes, you're lying, and you're stuttering…You're also acting real shy," I pointed out.

"I'm sorry," he softly said.

"I can prove to you that the Dark World is nothing. Ken, Jordan! Come here!" I called.

Ken and Jordan quickly walked over to us.

"What is it?" Jordan asked.

"I need to borrow your boyfriend for a few minutes. Just stay here and watch," I told her.

"Ok…I think."

Ken walked up to me. "What is it?"

"This is Josh. He's scared of me now because Al told him about the Dark World. I need to prove to him that the Dark World is nothing," I explained.

"Ok then."

"Ok, when Ken and I would hug and think the same thought at the same time, we would be sucked into the Dark World. That doesn't happen anymore," I said. "Ken, give me a hug, and think the Dark World is nothing."

Ken gave me a hug.

_The Dark World is nothing_, I thought.

There was a wind swirling around us. I closed my eyes as I felt everything that was surrounding us fade away.

"Ok, so maybe I lied," I slowly let go of Ken and looked around.

"It's been a long time since we last came here," Ken reminded me.

"I'm not that sure if I should be scared," I said.

"To be honest…I am," Ken admitted.

I closed my eyes. "So am I."

"It will be ok…We've handled this before," Ken remembered.

I fell to my knees.

"Kari!" Ken sat next me. "What's wrong?"

I stood up, Ken stood behind me.

"Kari?" Ken softly said.

"I-I…Don't know-!" I fell into Ken's arms. Ken almost fell back.

"What's happening?"

"This is my fault…I'm sorry," I whispered.

Ken laughed a little. "At least you're blaming yourself when it really is your fault."

"This isn't funny," I shook my head.

"I'm sorry Kari. I'm trying to look on the brighter side," he explained.

"Don't be sorry. Lets just go," I decided.

"Go?"

"We just need to think the same thought," I reminded him.

"Right…The thought will be that we want to leave."

I hugged Ken. _I want to leave._

I closed my eyes and sqeezed Ken's arms. I felt wind sweep around us as we were pulled back to reality. I slowly opened my eyes and let go of Ken.


	7. Chapter 7

Josh stared at us.

"Um…Sorry about that," I smiled.

"Am I the only one that is completely clueless to what just happened?" Jordan asked.

"No, I have no clue what was happening," Al said.

Josh still wouldn't say anything.

"This turned out wrong. I'm very sorry…I just thought…Well, I thought wrong, so it doesn't matter," I looked at Josh.

Davis put his hand on my shoulder. "We'll figure this out. Some how, we will figure this all out."

I tried to smile as I looked at my hands. "I guess, but you never know. Things like to be like this for me…I don't seem to get a break."

"What?" Ken questioned.

"The pain and the hurt, the suffering and the worrying…I never get a break from it. I never seem to get my answer. I never get anything at all…So, I've learned to live with it. Yet, I still can't help but shed the tears and hold my head down in shame."

"Don't be thinking like that. You have more to live for. You have friends and family. Don't think that nothing good will happen…If you think like that, that's all that is going to happen to you," Josh softly told me.

"Josh is right. You never get a break because you never stop from thinking you'll never get a break. You keep on worrying about everything…Things that don't even matter. If you start to look on the bright side, things will seem so much better. Just try it, and don't do it only for us…Do it for yourself," Davis said in a sweet, calm voice.

I looked around. I wasn't that sure what to do. I wasn't that sure about anything. What about what Yolei said, about me having to make a decision…There aren't any maybes…Just a yes and a no.

_"Kari, you have to be sure of yourself. There isn't a maybe, there isn't an I guess. There's a yes and a no, a right and a wrong. You need to decided what you want, you have to make the choice. You are the only one that can decide. No one can make you change your mind. Kari, you have to make a decision. Who do you want? Do you want to live in a lie? Do you want to tell the truth? Which is the right path? You need to decided, and you need to choose tonight!" _

I closed my eyes and held my breath. _Ok Kari, lets make a decision. Maybe Davis is right…No! Davis is right. I have to look on the bright side…I have to make things better for me. I can't be worrying about things that aren't even there. I can't be doing this anymore. I have nothing to worry about…Well, there is T.K., but I can make this better!_

"Kari, breathe!" Ken yelled.

"I'm such an idiot! Uh…I have to do something," I told them.

"Are you sure Kari?" Jordan asked.

"As sure as ever."

"Are you going to be ok?" Al wondered.

"I can't get worse."

"Do you want someone to come with you?" Ken questioned.

I pointed at Davis. "You _need_ to come."

"Ok Kari," Davis softly smiled.

"Come on," I pulled him towards T.K. and Matt.

I quickly hugged T.K. "I'm sorry…I should have told you. I guess I'm scared that I might really be losing you…That is the last thing that I want to happen. T.K., are you going to be ok?"

T.K. hugged me back. His cheek touched mine. "I'm fine…Now that you are better."

"How about you?" I looked at Matt.

"I'll be fine…Don't worry," Matt smiled.

"Why are you so concern?" Davis wondered.

"Because…We only have one life to live…And I'm trying to make this one the best," I frowned.

T.K. looked around the gym. "Kari, you have a great life, don't ever think anything different."

"It could be better."

"Everyone could have a better life, but nothing is perfect. Kari, you need to learn to live with what you have…Anyways, you have one of the best lives out of the group," Matt decided.

"You lie!" I disagreed.

Davis smiled at me. "You have a caring brother and parents. Look at all these friends you have…And most important…You have me!"

"No Davis, that is the bad part of her life," T.K. joked.

"Hey!"

I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and smiled.

"Hey there…How are you doing?" Tai asked me.

"I'm doing good…And why are you paying me this little visit?" I wondered.

"What? I can't even say hi to my own little sister anymore? Fine, I see there's no love for me here," he frowned.

"Fine, be that way Tai," I looked away.

"Come on Kari, he's doing what all older brothers do," Matt smiled.

"Believe me, that isn't a good thing," T.K. winked.

"Hey!" both Matt and Tai yelled.

"It could be worse, you could be like my sister, June!" Davis laughed.

"Ah! No!"

"Well brother of mine, I'm going to talk to Mimi and Izzy. T.K., Davis, coming with me?" I questioned the two boys.

"Actually…We have to talk with Ken…Sorry," Davis frowned.

"Is that ok?" T.K. asked.

"It's your guys' decision. It's not like I care what you guys do," I smiled.

T.K. and Davis nodded and I walked away.

"Hey Izzy, Mimi," I waved as I got towards them.

"It's amazing, you're not with Davis!" Mimi joked.

"Oh, shut up," I frowned.

"School's going to be ending soon," Izzy told me.

"Huh?" I looked at the clock. "You've got to be joking…2:15 already?"

"Time sure does fly when you're talking with your friends," Mimi snickered.

I looked around and frowned when I saw Mrs. Shing walking in.

"Hello Kari, Izzy," Mrs. Shing smiled.

"Hello Mrs. Shing," we frowned. Mimi looked at us confused.

"I know that I'm not having you go to detention or doing the biography project, but I do have an assignment that you, Davis, Al, and Josh have to do."

"Uh…What is it?" I wondered.

"You must write any type of poem for Monday. It will be read in front of the class the day it is due. Please tell the others for me," Mrs. Shing left.

"Uh…Oh boy."

"Err…She's evil," Izzy mumble.

"Yeah, glad I never had to have her!" Mimi laughed.

I looked around the room and frowned.

"What's wrong Kari?" Izzy questioned.

I looked over at Mimi.

"Hey Mimi, why don't you tell T.K. and Davis about their homework, please?"

"Ok," Mimi smiled and walked away.

"Now Kari, what's bothering you?" Izzy demanded.

"I have to write a poem," I mumbled.

"That's it? Writing a poem? Kari, you're great with poetry; I've heard you before."

"That was in front of just my friends…One person at a time. Also, T.K. won't be there. It just won't feel right without him."

"You'll be fine."

I looked at Mimi talking to Davis. I began to frown. "It's just not that simple Izzy. I can't be fine when I'm losing my best friend. When I say things in a poetry form, it's showing my feelings…I'm not ready to share that with the world."

"But Kari, no one else will know that. Well, Davis might, but only you two. Anyways, you're not telling the whole world, just a few students."

_Oh! I could write a poem about T.K. moving. It could show feelings, but no one other than me will know it's about him…Well, Davis will,_ I thought.

I began to smile.

"What? Did I help you?" Izzy wondered.

"Well, kind of, but…I figured something out; that's what counts!" I explained.

"So, are you going to tell me what you thought of?"

I kissed him on the cheek. "I can't…Sorry!" I began to walk off.

I turned back around to see Izzy placing his hand on his cheek and blushing.

"I'm sorry to bother you guys," I tapped Matt on the shoulder.

"Huh?" he turned around.

"Kari, what do you need?" Tai wondered.

I looked at the ground. "Can I borrow Matt for a few minutes?"

"Uh, sure Kari…Is something wrong?" Tai asked.

"That's why I need to talk to Matt…He's the only one I can trust with this," I frowned.

"Don't worry Tai, I can handle this," Matt decided.

I looked at the doors that led to the hallway. "Uh…"

"Come on Kari," Matt nodded his head.

We walked out into the hallway.

"What's bothering you?" Matt questioned me.

"I'm not that sure how to explain it," I frowned.

"Just try your best to get it out."

"Mrs. Shing came in and told me that we have to make a poem for Monday. I was kind of shaky about the idea; Izzy noticed this and asked Mimi to tell Davis about the homework. We talked about this and I thougth of a great idea for what I'll do."

"I don't see what you have to worry about."

"Izzy asked me what I thought of, I kissed him on the cheek and said that I couldn't tell him. Before he could say anything I walked away, but turned back to see him blushing and placing his hand on his cheek."

"He's just your friend…You know that Kari."

"You know how T.K. said he was over me, but he really isn't?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I don't think I'm over Izzy."

"Oh."

"I don't know what to do! Should I tell Davis, or should he be left out in the dark?"

"Kari, think about this, would you want to be left out if Davis was still crushing on someone?"

"I'm not that sure."

Matt looked away. "I know it's hard Kari, so if you want this to be a secret between just you and me…I promise, I won't tell anyone."

_Secrets! No more secrets. Secrets were what hurt me a year ago…I can't keep things from Davis; not anymore,_ I thought.

"No secrets…I'll tell Davis…It's the right thing to do," I decided.

"I knew you would figure it out on your own," Matt smiled.

I stared at the floor. "Thanks Matt…If something ever happens to Tai, I know I can always find a brother in you."

Matt nodded his head as he opened the door. He slightly turned around to see me. "Kari! What? Why? Uh…Don't cry."

"It's not that easy Matt. I really wish it was," I looked away. "It's not just this…And it's not about T.K. moving. It's about something else; I just don't know what that is."

"Is it the…Dark World?"

"I-I don't r-really know. I g-guess it m-might be. I'm just n-not that s-sure about any of th-this. I-I'm s-so c-confused," I stuttered.

"Kari, are you feeling ok? You're starting to stutter…And when ever you stutter for no reason…You usually pass out," Matt remembered.

I sat on the floor and started to breathe heavily. "G-get m-me h-help…Get D-D-Davis and T-Tai. Hurry Matt!"

Matt opened the gym doors and yelled their names. "Davis! Tai! Kari needs you!"

The door crashed open as Davis and Tai sat by my side.

"Kari, what's wrong? What's happening?" Tai questioned.

I fell into Davis's arms in tears. I faced Tai. "I don't want this to happen. I don't want the pain."

"What?"

"I ca-"

"Shh…Kari, just rest. Listen to my voice as it soothes you. You can't change what already happened. T.K. moving, the Dark World, kissing Izzy, nothing can be changed from the past. You can't predict what will happen in the future. You didn't know T.K. was moving, you didn't know Yolei and T.K. were going to get in a fight, you weren't the cause of any of it. What is from the past is from the past; you can't alter it. I know you want to, but it's not possible. I wish it was; I wouldn't have let Tai get that soccer ball, I wouldn't of let Izzy and Sora do that prank on Tai…I wouldn't have let any of the bad things happen. We just have to live with it Kari. You must learn to live with the problems. I know it won't be easy, but try. You have to try…If you don't, you'll just be this negative person that will get nowhere in life. Kari, just try…As I said before, don't just do it for yourself…Do it for your friends and family. We need you to shine your light on us, and you can't do that if your pessimism takes over your mind," Davis softly told me.

"Oh…But what about the pain?" I wondered.

"The pain will always be there. Slowly, you will forget about it. It will never leave your heart though. And I know, it's the worse possible feeling, but believe me Kari, you'll make it through…You always do," Tai reassured me.

"And Kari, don't think that you're the only one feeling this pain. We're all suffering…Don't feel like you can't talk to us about this. Don't pressure yourself into thinking we can't help you. We'll always be here for you…We always were. You'll never be alone. You just need to remember that," Matt explained.

Tears were flowing down my cheeks. Davis pressed his cheek against mine and let the drops fall onto his own cheek.

"You'll never have to be alone. You never were," Davis whispered in my ear.

"Never?" I softly said.

"Never."

"Now…If I remember right, school is over…Lets get the others. We have better things to do than to stay in the school all day," Tai decided.

"Yeah, we don't have any detentions," Matt agreed.

I smiled. "Get the others. Davis and I will wait for you outside of the building."

"Ok Kari," Tai nodded and they went into the gym.

"Come on Davis," I walked down the hall.

"Kari, hold up. What has been bothering you so much?" Davis questioned as we were walking.

I turned and stared at Davis. I opened my mouth, but no words came out.

"You can tell me anything."

"Davis…I'm not that sure what has been bothering me. There's this little voice in the back of my head that tells me to worry. I don't know what to do. I'm not that sure what it's about. But…Right now, my heart wants to know that I'll always have someone to talk to…Someone who will always care about me. Davis…The only person that can do that is you. Reassure me that everything will be alright. You're the only one I'll believe. You're the only one that can ever understand me," tears started to fall from my eyes.

Davis started to cry with me. "I'll always be here for you…Don't let anyone tell you anything different. We can be scared and worried together. We can be misunderstood together. Nothing and no one will ever change that. I'm not going to leave you alone. You're the only girl for me. Never let anything or anyone make you think any differently. Kari, I'm here for you, for now…And forever."

"Make me believe you," I whispered.

Davis slowly brought his hands up and placed them on my cheeks. He pulled me towards him. Our lips met as we began to kiss. It was comforting and made me believe his words were true.

"Ah! The one thing I never wanted to see!" I heard Tai yell.

I turned to see him. Tai was staring at Davis and me. The only thing he asked of me is to never let him see Davis and I kiss. I turned to Davis. He was backing away from me.

"I'm sorry Tai…I know you never wanted to see that. Just, give me a minute to explain," Davis begged him.

Tai walked up to us. He took my hand and put it in Davis's. Tai began to smile. "That's how it should be. No one can change that…Not even me."

"You…You do understand," I whispered.

"Kari, you're the one who taught me that. No one can change what has happened, but we grow stronger from our mistakes. Each day that passes teaches us a new lesson. We can't have everything we want. If it was that easy, I would never have to see you shed a tear ever again. Oh, Kari, if life was that simple…I wouldn't let you feel the hurt you always have, I would take it all away. But, life isn't that way, so we have to live with what we have. There's no hiding. There's no running away. Kari…I would have never learned any of this if it wasn't for you. I've learned more in one year than through my whole life! It's all because of you…But…You need to start listening to your own words. Kari, no one can stop you…Not T.K. moving, not Davis, not the Dark World, not your depression, not even me! And you told us yourself!" Tai told me.

"I don't care about what I said! The pain I have won't ever go away, and I don't even know where it came from. I want to just hide, but you won't let me! I don't want to suffer anymore!" I yelled.

Davis turned to me. "I'm sorry, but I have to do this Kari."

"Huh?"

Davis quickly slapped me across my face. "You feel the pain because you think you have to, but you don't. You have no reason for the hurt. Kari, you have to learn to let the things from the past go! The pain was created for no reason…You're scared for no reason. Everything will be alright…Just…You have to believe me!"

I placed my hand on my cheek. I fell on my knees and stared up at Davis. "Oh-!"

"I'm so sorry about hitting you Kari," Davis sat next to me.

We were both in tears.

I shook my head. "Don't be sorry Davis…You're right…You're so right."

Davis looked at Tai.

"Go ahead," Tai sighed.

"Thanks," Davis pulled me towards him and softly our mouths met. I placed my hand on his cheek. Davis's hands were on my cheeks as he pulled away. We looked each other in the eyes and slightly smiled. I felt something I had never felt before. The pain and hurt inside my heart felt like in wasn't there anymore.

"D-Davis…It was you that made me feel the pain," I frowned.

He stood up and backed away. "What?"

"You're the cause of my pain, just like I'm the cause of yours."

"Huh? Are you breaking up with me?"

"No Davis…Because you're also the healer for my hurt."

"I'm still confused."

"Because of you, my heart likes to play games, but if it wasn't for you…I wouldn't know that my love could never belong to anyone else."

"Oh."

"Because of our love, I must hurt by betraying my brother and doing things he'll get mad at me for. It tears me apart, but I wouldn't want it any other way. If our love makes my heart ache…Then let it be in pain because I could never love anyone the way I love you Davis."

Davis looked over; I looked with him. I saw our friends. I forgot they were there. The looks I saw were sad…They were all crying; feeling what I felt.

Sora wiped her eyes. She was nodding her head as if she agreed with what I said.

"I didn't mean for our love to hurt you so much," Davis whispered in my ear.

I shook my head. "I rather have the hurt and the love then not have the love at all."

Davis was still standing. He reached out and pulled me up. He looked at the others and back at me. "T.K., you and Kari better get going…I don't think you want to be late."

"What?" T.K. questioned.

"You have plans…Remember? Kari's going over to your house for dinner."

"Oh! Right!"

"What are you guys going to do?" I wondered.

Davis smiled and pointed at Yolei. "We're going out for pizza."

Yolei walked up to us. "Yeah, Davis and I have some catching up to do…And he needs to explain to me how to not feel the pain after T.K. moves."

"Of course," T.K. smiled.

"Come on, we better go," I pulled T.K. and waved to the others.

We walked out of the school and to his apartment.


	8. Chapter 8

T.K. opened the door. "Mom! I brought Kari over for dinner!"

"What are you doing home so soon…Did you skip detention?" Mrs. Takaishi asked.

"No, the teacher decided that we don't have it anymore," he smiled.

"Ok then…I'm going to order pizza for dinner seeming that Kari is over."

"Right," T.K. nodded and motioned me into his room.

I hadn't been to T.K.'s house in awhile. Right when when I looked around, I remembered the last year. Most of the bad things happened here and the concert hall. So many bad memories…But out of them all…There came good ones.

"Sorry about the mess Kari, I haven't had a chance to clean," T.K. apologized.

"Have you been packing?" I wondered.

"Not really. Mom decided that we'll just take what we need for the first few month, and we'll come back for the rest of the stuff at a later date," he frowned.

I looked at the walls, only one picture was hanging; the picture I gave to him. The one of Matt and T.K. It looked lonely. "T.K., what have you decided to bring with you?"

"Well…I haven't given that much thought. I'm going to bring my clothes and my shampoo. I'm also going to bring my basketball…But the things I want to take most must stay in Japan."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean, I can't take my friends with me."

"Oh T.K.," I got up and hugged him.

T.K. hugged me back. "I'll live with it…I'll have to cope."

There was knocking on the door. "The pizza is here!" T.K.'s mom said.

"Come on Kari," T.K. smiled.

We walked out of the room and sat at the table.

T.K. pulled out a chair for me; I sat down. He sat next to me. He then placed two slices of pizza on our plates. Smiling, T.K. motioned me to eat. I slowly grabbed the slice and bit into it.

"So, Kari, how has school been going?" Mrs. Takaishi broke the silence.

"It's been going pretty good," I forced a smile on my face.

"That's good."

"Yeah, we were going to have a good school year…Too bad I won't be here," T.K. hinted.

"T.K., be a little positive about your move," I frowned.

T.K. finished his pizza. "Excuse me." He stood up and walked to the bathroom.

I looked at the pizza box as I slowly finished my last slice.

"Would you like more?" Mrs. Takaishi asked.

I shook my head.

"What's bothering you?"

I looked away. "The fact that my best friend has to move."

"Kari, we have to…This is his father."

"But he's been doing fine without one."

"I know you don't understand."

"I understand perfectly fine!"

"Please, don't yell."

I stood up. "You're taking T.K. away from more than just his friends…You're taking him from his life. I just hope you know what you're doing is a mistake." I stormed off into T.K.'s room.

_What has happened to me? I was yelling at T.K.'s mom…I was being a jerk. I guess I'm not ready to lose a friend. What am I talking about? I'm not losing T.K.! Our friendship can only grow. It's just so hard to figure all of this out,_ I thought.

The door opened.

"I'm sorry T.K.," I softly said.

A hand was placed on my shoulder. "You did nothing wrong. Now, lets talk about the real reason I wanted you to come."

I had forgotten the true reason for why I was invited, but now that I remembered…I didn't really need that answer anymore. I had figured it out already.

"No need to talk about that," I softly smiled.

"Kari…I'm sorry I didn't tell you that I still have feelings for you," he frowned.

"T.K., you learn something new everyday…Today, I learned that Davis is the cause and the healer of my pain. You learned that you can never over come the feelings in your heart."

He nodded. "Come on, lets get you home."

I smiled as we walked out the door. We went to the elevator. When it opened, Yolei and Davis were inside. They stepped out.

"You guys are back early," I smiled.

"Davis got us kicked out," Yolei frowned.

"You're joking…Right?" I wondered.

Davis shook his head. "No…They said I was being too loud."

"But he was making a good point," Yolei decided.

"Well, seeming that you guys are back…Davis, you can walk Kari home or whatever, and I'll walk Yolei up to her apartment," T.K. said.

"Right!"

Davis and I took the elevator down first.

As we walked out of the elevator, Davis grabbed my hand. I pulled myself closer to him and leaned my head on his shoulder.

"How was your dinner?" Davis questioned.

"I think Mrs. Takaishi is mad at me," I frowned.

"Why?"

"I yelled at her because she didn't think I understood why T.K. and her were moving."

There was a moment of silence. I guess that Davis was thinking of something to say, but he never spoke a single word.

"Davis," I faintly said.

He stared at me. "What is it?"

This time, I was the one that didn't say anything.

"Kari, don't worry about Mrs. Takaishi being mad at you. You have much better things to do. Anyway…You have a poem to write," Davis smiled, but I could tell it was fake.

I looked away. "Your smile…It's forced on your face. Why do you have a false smile? Just…Don't smile at all."

"I'm sorry…Ididn't really even notice," Davis frowned and let go of my hand.

I pulled the hand he held up to my face.

"Kari…This is your stop."

I looked up at a building; my apartments.

"Come on, I'll walk you up," Davis decided.

Without me giving a response, we walked up to my door.

"Kari, try to have a good night. I hope tomorrow I don't have to find you in front of my door…Next time, just wake me up," Davis told me.

"I forgot about that. Davis, I'll see you tomorrow…Have a good night," I put my hand on the door nob and began to turn.

"Um…Ok, bye," Davis started to walk away.

I quickly turned around. "Hey Davis! You forgot something!"

He walked back. "What?"

"Good night, and I love you," I pulled him towards me as we began to kiss.

After a few seconds, we pulled away.

"I love you too, and I'll have a great night now," Davis smiled as he waved good bye.

I opened the door and walked in.

"I'm home!" I yelled.

"Welcome home honey," my dad welcomed me back.

"Daddy!" I cried as I gave him a big hug.

My father worked almost all the time so Tai, my mom, and myself didn't get to see him that often. When ever he came home, I would always be asleep, and he'd leave before the next morning.

"I hope you don't mind me being home. Anyways, Tai told me about T.K. moving. I hope you'll end up being ok. Why should I be worried? You're always happy!" he smiled.

"Of course," I forced a smile and a laugh. "I have to get ready for bed, I'll talk to you later." I walked into the bedroom.

"Hey Kari," Tai smiled as I walked in.

I walked over to the bed and grabbed my pajamas. I turned back to the door.

"What's wrong?" Tai questioned.

I looked at him. "It hurts to keep secrets…No matter how small they are."

"Huh?"

"Dad's home…And he still doesn't know."

"Are you talking about not telling Dad about your depression?"

"I…Have to change," I quickly left for the bathroom.

I quickly changed. I had a feeling that when I got back to Tai, he'd be asking me a whole bunch of questions. I looked at myself in the mirror.

"I'm not always happy…It's just when you're around."

A tear fell from my eye. I quickly wiped it of my cheek.

_Stupid secrets…They do nothing but bad for me! I just can't tell this one; I promised Mom, and breaking a promise with her is the last thing I want to do,_ I thought.

I pulled open the door and walked back into the bedroom.

As I walked into the room, I saw Tai strangling his pillow.

"Tai!" I yelled.

He quickly turned to see me. The pillow was dropped.

"What are you doing?" I demanded.

"I didn't mean for you to see that; I just lost my temper," Tai frowned.

"Why?" I wondered.

Tai looked away. "Because of Dad."

"Dad?"

"He's pressuring me into telling him something I shouldn't….He thinks I'm hiding something when I'm not. Now, he won't leave it alone."

"But Tai, you are hiding something from him. You're not telling him about my depression. Also…He doesn't know about you and Sora…Or Davis and I."

"You said you told him!"

"I lied. I couldn't let him know. It would have broken his heart to know that his little girl is growing up."

Tai pushed me on the bed. "What about me? You don't care about breaking my heart!"

I tried to push him off, but I couldn't. I quickly punched him in the stomach; he punched back. We hit each other back and forth until Tai nailed me to the wall. His hands were wrapped around my neck. He started to squeeze; started to choke me.

"Ah!" I tried to scream. It was soft, but it was heard.

The door crashed open.

"Taichi Kamiya! Let go of her!" our mom yelled.

Tai let go of me and turned around.

"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.

"I was choking my sister," Tai admitted.

"Get out in the living room," our dad said.

Tai walked out.

"Kari, are you ok?" Mom wondered.

"Leave me alone," I frowned.

They walked out.

I laid my head on my pillow. I closed my eyes. "Thank you Tai…Thank you for showing me how you truly feel about all of this."

I began to cry.

"Thank you," my words faded as I fell asleep.

It was a terrible night, and an even worse morning. Tai had to sleep on the couch. I blamed myself. I didn't talk the whole morning, and I wouldn't even eat. Everyone tried to get me to say something, but I never did. I wouldn't even smile; my depression was shown. After I was ready to leave, I went to get Davis. We all decided to not go to school and just hang out.

I knocked on Davis's door.

The door opened. June was there. "What?"

"Is Davis ready?" I wondered.

"Davis! Hurry up! Someone is here for you!" June yelled.

"Uh-"

The door was slammed in my face.

_What a jerk!_ I thought.

The door quickly opened back up. Davis smiled and gave me a hug. "Sorry about her."

I pushed him away. "Lets just go."

Davis was shocked by my action. I began to walk away; he followed.

We stopped in front of Yolei, T.K., and Cody's apartment building.

"Kari, are you ok? You don't seem yourself," Davis pointed out.

"I don't want to talk about it," I frowned.

"Oh, ok," Davis went to the elevator.

_He's not pressuring me into saying what's wrong,_ I thought.

"I'm sorry about pushing you away," I told him as we got into the elevator.

"Don't worry about it," Davis softly smiled.

I tried to smile back, but I couldn't.

"So, are you ok? From your fight with Tai, I mean. If you're wondering, I have a way of figuring these things out, and I also noticed a few scratches and scrapes on your arms. I'm guessing you weren't going to tell me, so I had to ask. I just hope Tai didn't hurt you too much, because if he did I'd…Well, I wouldn't be too happy. I don't like seeing you get hurt. It just breaks my heart."

I looked at the floor as the elevator came to a stop. "Dai…"

He stepped out of the elevator and pulled me with him. Davis walked us to Yolei's apartment.

Davis stopped at her door and turned to me. He began to blush.

"What?" I wondered.

"You called me Dai."

I knocked on the door. "He got mad because I didn't tell our dad about me going out with you or about him going out with Sora. Tai got mad because I said I didn't want to break our dad's heart, and I didn't think our dad would want to see me grow up so fast. Then, Tai pushed me onto the bed yelling about breaking his heart, and yeah, that's kind of what happened."

The door opened as Yolei smiled at us.

"Hey Yolei," I softly said.

"Hey guys! We've been waiting for you to get here. T.K. and I already decided what we're going to do today. You're going to be so surprised! Don't worry, you'll like it," Yolei pulled us in.

As we walked in, I heard T.K. and Cody arguing.

"Stop changing the channel!" T.K. yelled.

"I'm not the one who changed it first…I was watching this first!" Cody yelled back.

Yolei walked up to the TV and turned it off. "You're acting like three year olds! Now, lets go."

T.K. and Cody turned to her and nodded.

"Is Ken going to be coming?" Davis questioned.

"He can't get out of school, but he'll be coming to the airport tomorrow morning…When I leave," T.K. explained to him.

I sighed. "I wish he could come with us…Where ever we're going."

"Lets get going. We have a great day planned," Cody smiled.

With the nodding of our heads, we were on our way. I still didn't know where we were going, but I guess I would find out when I got there.

"Ok, we don't want you to know where we're going, so…Both of you will have to be blind folded," T.K. told us.

"Blind folded? Uh…Why?" I questioned.

"Because, we don't want you two to know where we're going," Cody smiled.

Davis sighed. "Can't you just tell us?"

"No! Now, hold still so we can get you blind folded!" Yolei yelled.

I grabbed Davis's hand. "Ok."

"Ok, now that we have those on you guys, we can get going. Oh, and so you go the right way, I'll pull you in the right direction," Cody took my free hand and pulled me down the road; I pulled Davis.

"It feels like we've been walking for hours," I complained.

"Yeah, and I've almost tripped over a million times!" Davis yelled.

"Don't worry, we're there," Yolei giggled.

We stopped and our blind folds were taken off. It was an amazing sight we saw. Such an amazing sight, it made me cry. I fell to the ground in tears.

"Kari!" T.K. shouted as everyone turned around.

"We're sorry, we didn't think it would make you cry," Cody explained.

A picnic was set up in the same place we had it last year. I had notice etching on the tree.

It read:

"We've made it this far. Nothing can hold us back." -Davis Motomiya

"To some, T.K. is just a friend, to another, he was a boyfriend, to me, he was my best friend. So, we are losing more than a friend, we're losing a part of our lives, and a piece of our hearts." -Kari Kamiya

"May I engrave something?" I asked T.K. and Yolei.

"Go ahead," T.K. smiled.

I walked up to the tree and slowly marked a few words. I then walked back to the group.

"Forever you'll be beside us no matter how far you go. Ocean, sea, river, it doesn't really matter. We see the true you. Let your hope shine on us. Never change. Forever stay the same. Just be our T.K.," Yolei read what I wrote.

"That's sweet," Cody whispered.

"Th-thank you K-Kari," T.K. was shaking.

I placed my hand on his shoulder. I let out a soft sigh. "It will be ok. Don't worry T.K."

"Come on, I'm getting hungry…Lets have this picnic," Davis decided.

We slowly walked to where the picnic was set up. We sat down and began to eat. It was silent.

I was scared. The thought of losing my best friend. What parent would do that? It was so sad. The thought of not having that one person that was always there for you not there. It was so scary. I know I'll see him again, but why did he have to go so far? The bad stuff…It always happens to me.

"Kari? Are you ok?" Cody asked.

"Huh? Yeah…I'm fine," I slowly came back to reality.

"Kari," T.K. softly spoke. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean for this to happen."

I looked up in surprise. "T.K, it's not your fault. Don't ever think that! You couldn't prevent this from happening. It will never be your fault…Never."

"And…It's not your fault either," Davis stared into my eyes.

"It's nobody's fault," Yolei decided.

I jumped up with a rice ball in my hand. "Lets blame Tai!"

"Tai?" everyone wondered.

"Yeah…Or, we could blame Joe," I took a bite.

"Where do you come up with this stuff?" Cody questioned.

"…My…Head…"

"Sit down Kari," Davis told me.

"No."

"Sit."

"No."

"Kari, please sit."

I had a little piece of rice ball left. I threw it at Davis's head. "No."

"Ok, that wasn't nice," he got an evil smile. He took a piece of bread and threw it at me.

We started to throw food back and forth. T.K. and Yolei joined in. Cody quickly stood up.

"Stop!" Cody yelled.

We quickly looked at Cody. He never yelled. We were shocked.

"Sorry…I just don't think we should be wasting food," Cody picked up the last rice ball and took a bite. "We should eat it, or we could do this." Cody threw the rice ball at Yolei.

"Hey! But it's ok for you to throw things at me?" Yolei demanded.

"Maybe…"

I stood up and tackled Cody down.

"Wait, I'm younger than you…You're not allowed to hurt me!" he cried.

I got up and lost my balance. I fell ontop of Davis.

"Hey, good thing you don't weigh that much!" Davis yelled.

"Sorry Davis…I can't walk today," I smiled.

T.K. walked up to me. "Do you need a hand?"

"Yes please."

He began to clap.

"Hey!" I whined.

"Just joking!" T.K. pulled me off of Davis. He looked down at him. "I think you can manage…Right?"

Davis sighed and looked towards the sky. "It's sad, you know? The thought that we might never have a day like this again…"

"We never had a day like this before," Yolei softly pointed out.

"I know…And it feels so good. I love spending time with you guys. Have you noticed? I haven't fought with T.K. all day," Davis slowly got on his feet.

"That's rare. We always have someone fighting in our group, but it hasn't happened all day," Cody agreed with him.

"It's pretty nice," I frowned.

"If it's nice…Then why are you frowning?" T.K. questioned.

"I can't help it. It hurts," I looked towards Davis. You could see tears forming in his eyes.

Davis put a hand on Yolei's shoulder and his other hand on my shoulder. "Lets try our hardest to make this day the best day. We'll always remember today. It will be our national friendship day…Ok?"

"I like that idea," Yolei turned to Davis.

"So, lets not ruin this day. Lets go have some good team fun!" Cody decided.

We spend the whole day together until it was 5PM. T.K. had to go home because he had to finish packing. Everyone else decided to go home. Davis and I decided to stay out for a little longer.


	9. Chapter 9

"Davis, remember when you told me it was ok to kiss T.K. before he leaves?" I asked.

"Yeah," Davis smiled.

"Well, Yolei and I were talking about it yesterday…She said that it was ok too. So, I may consider it…Will that be ok?"

"Why wouldn't it?"

"I was just making sure."

"Kari…It will be ok."

I stared at the sky as the sun began to set. "We better get home…"

"But, you have to do something first," Davis told me.

"What?"

Davis leaned over. "Do you love me?"

"Yeah."

"Prove it…"

I slowly pulled myself closer to him and quickly kissed him on the lips. "I love you Davis, but I have to get home."

"I'll walk you home," he got up and took my hand.

We slowly walked home. Davis dropped me off at my apartment and walked the rest of the way to his own.

I walked in the door. It was 8:30PM. Tai was asleep because we had to get up early the next morning. I softly touched his cheek. He slept on the couch, I sat on the floor by him.

"Tai, I'm sorry about last night…You were right. I hope you'll forgive me. Also…Thank you. Now, I know how you truly feel. I'm sorry that I hurt you. I love you Tai," I kissed him on the cheek and walked to our room to go to sleep.

I laid in the bed and quickly fell asleep.

"Kari, time to get up…We have to go," I heard whispering in my ear.

I slowly rolled onto my side, and then I rolled again. This time, I rolled off the bed. "Oww!"

"Hurry, get dressed, everyone is going to be there…We don't want to be late," Tai smiled.

"Ok," I said as I stood up. I quickly got my clothes and changed in the bathroom. I then walked back into the room.

"Lets get going," Tai told me as we walked out the door.

We quickly walked to the airport where we met up with the others.

Davis walked up to me. "Kari! Come on, we're gathering to give T.K. his good-bye presents. You ready for what you want to do?"

"I think I'm ready for just about anything," I smiled.

"That's the spirit," Tai whispered in my ear.

We all lined up. Davis, Yolei, and I were last in the line. Mimi and Izzy were first.

"T.K.!" Mimi hugged the boy. "I wanted to give you something really special…But the only thing I could find was American money…So, you can have it. But, I also made you this card."

"Thanks Mimi, this means a lot to me," T.K. smiled.

"I made you this CD…It has all the pictures we ever taken," Izzy said.

"Great!"

"I made this first aid kit. It will be perfect for everything!" Joe laughed.

"And, I made a card to go with it," Lilly softly said.

"Thanks…This will come in handy," T.K. took the gifts.

"I can't believe you're leaving," Al frowned as she handed him a card.

"It's hard to believe," Josh agreed and gave T.K. another card.

"I know," T.K. nodded.

"I hope you'll come and visit us," Cody said.

"I will…Thanks for the card."

"It was no problem," Liz winked.

Ken handed T.K. a pen.

"What's this?" T.K. questioned.

"My lucky pen…You'll need it more than I will," Ken explained.

"Thanks! I'll only use it when I need the most luck."

"Good luck in America," Jordan smiled as she gave him a card.

"I have all the luck I can get," T.K. waved the pen.

"I know you don't really play soccer…So, I'm not giving you a soccer ball. I bought you a new basketball instead," Tai told him.

"Oh! Awesome! Tai, you're great!" T.K. yelled.

"Don't forget me. I got you something too," Sora said as she handed him a card and a key chain.

"Thanks Sora."

"Here, I got you a card," Sidney smiled.

"Thanks," T.K. said as he walked up to Matt.

"I'm going to miss you…But I know we'll see each other again. Here…I wanted you to have my harmonica," Matt handed him it.

"Matt…This means a lot to me…"

"It was nothing."

T.K. walked up to Davis, Yolei, and myself.

T.K. looked at me. I looked at Yolei, she nodded. I looked at Davis, he nodded. I turned to T.K.

"I'm sorry that I have to leave," T.K. whispered.

I placed my hands on his cheeks and slowly leaned in. I was about to kiss him on the lips, but I turned my head and kissed T.K.'s cheek. "You're like a brother to me…Thank you."

"Kari…"

I took his hand and placed a whistle in it. "This is better with you."

"Kari…You're whistle…But you love this thing…"

"I love you more."

T.K. quickly hugged me and tears fell from our eyes. "Kari! I'm going to miss you so much!"

"Hey! Save some of that love for me!" Yolei yelled.

T.K. let go of me and turned to Yolei. He pulled her close and kissed her on her lips. After pulling away, he began to blush. "Can we still be together?"

"I wouldn't want it any other way," Yolei blushed.

"Hey, where's my present?"

"Right!" she handed him a card.

"That's it?"

"You already have my love…What more do you want?"

"I love you too," T.K. said as he turned to Davis.

"Don't worry, I got you something!" Davis snickered as he handed T.K. a soccer ball.

"What!" T.K. looked confused.

"I won five games with it…It's lucky…I want you to have it."

"Wow, thanks Davis. This means so much to me," T.K. smiled.

"T.K., time to go," Mrs. Takaishi called.

"My mom will have her cell phone still…It will work perfectly fine. If you need anything, call it. I'll call you right when I get to my new home," T.K. promised.

We quickly gave him hugs and he boarded the plane. Tears filled our eyes. We never wanted to see one of our friends leave. The plane flew to the sky…T.K. was gone.

I fell to my knees as more tears filled my eyes. Davis knelt down next to me. He placed his hands on my shoulders.

"He's gone Davis…T.K.'s gone…" I whispered.

"No Kari…He isn't," Davis told me.

"This is it, I have nothing to live for. I lost my best friend."

"You didn't lose him."

"How do you know?" I demanded.

Davis took his hand and placed it on my heart. "T.K. will always be there."

I reached over and hugged Davis. Our cheeks touched as I let my tears run down both of our faces. Davis said that T.K. would always be in our hearts…But he still seems so far away.

"Kari…" a hand was softly placed on my cheek.

I looked up to see Matt. I placed my hand over his.

"Kari…It will hurt…I know. Think about what T.K. is feeling right now. He's looking down from the sky, and he's probably crying. He'll never be able to find what he found here anywhere else. Just…Don't worry too much about it. How about you come over to my apartment tomorrow night for dinner? We can talk more about this," Matt offered.

I closed my eyes tight. It was hard, but I stopped crying. "That's a good idea…"

"I'm glad you agree. I'll come and get you at five tomorrow night. Ok?"

I nodded. Matt helped me up, and I looked at Davis who was still sitting. "Davis, we'll spend Sunday together…Ok? All day, nothing but you and me." I turned to Yolei. "Want to have a sleepover? You can come over to my house…It will be like the day before Willis left to go back to America."

Yolei helped Davis up and smiled at me. "Perfecto!"

"We'll make the best of this…No matter how hard it is," Davis decided.

I looked over towards Tai; he was talking to Izzy.

"What's wrong?"

"I have some unfinished business with Tai," I began to walk away.

Davis held me back. "I don't want to see any fighting between the two of you!"

"There isn't going to be fighting…I need him to know how sorry I am for hurting him."

"He's lucky to have a little sister like you," Matt smiled.

I turned around, flashed a smile, and ran towards Tai.

"Is that a smile on your face?" Tai questioned.

I ignored his question and tightly hugged him.

"Ah!"

"Tai…I never meant to hurt you," I softly spoke.

Tai hugged me back. "Izzy…Could you-"

"I'll stop by your apartment later," I heard Izzy's footsteps as he walked away.

"So, what are you talking about?" Tai pushed me off of him.

"I didn't truly understand what I was doing to you when I started to go out with Davis. I didn't know I was hurting you. Is there anyway I could make you not hate me for what I put you through? I don't want you to be broken hearted because of me," I explained.

He slightly smiled. "I'll never hate you Kari…I might not like you at times, but I can never hate you. And, if anyone should be sorry, it should be me. I shouldn't of hit you or hurt you in anyway. I was being a bad big brother. It just hurt to know that you didn't tell Dad because of not wanting to break his heart. I hope that you'll forgive me."

"I'm going to tell him the next time he's home when I am…Ok?"

"Only if I'm right beside you."

"Fine. We'll do it together."

"Are you going to be ok? I mean about T.K. moving. I'm asking because of the smile on your face."

"Yolei is sleeping over, tomorrow I'm having dinner with Matt…And Sunday, I'm spending the whole day with Davis…I'm going to be ok. I think I'm going to plan a day next weekend to hang out with just Ken…"

"You're going to have very busy week."

I sighed and looked around. "I'm just trying to make the best out of everything."

"And you're doing great."

"Tai…"

"Hey Kari! Lets get going! I need a booster upper!" Yolei yelled.

Everyone was leaving. "Come on Tai." I walked up to Yolei and Davis.

"I better get going…I'll talk to you whenever," Davis hugged and kissed me quickly. He turned to Yolei. He gave her a hug. "It will be ok Yolei." Davis slightly kissed her cheek.

Yolei hugged him back. "Thanks Davis."

"We'll call you later," I smiled to him.

"Yeah, get going," Tai told the boy.

"Ok…I'm going!" Davis turned to see Ken walking away. "Hey! Ken! Wait up!" He ran after him.

"He's crazy," Tai frowned.

"He's sweet and caring," I nodded.

"And a great friend," Yolei agreed.

We walked to my apartment in silence.

"Mom! We're home!" Tai yelled.

"Tai, Izzy has been waiting for you," our mom said.

"It was not that long Mrs. Kamiya," Izzy smiled as he walked into the living room.

"Oh! I forgot…I invited Izzy over for the night…Do you girls mind?" Tai wondered.

"Not at all, it will be fun," I decided.

"Yeah, we'll give you boys make-overs," Yolei said.

"Oh yeah, that's what I need!" Izzy winked.

"We'll need lipstick, blush, eye shadow, nail polish…bows, ribbons…Other girly things," I laughed as we walked to our bedroom.

"Ok, Kari and I get the beds," Yolei called.

"What? No fair!" Tai yelled.

"Yes it is," I frowned. "We're broken hearted…We need the comfort of the bed…It's all we have left to live for."

"Whatever!" Izzy laughed.

Yolei laid herself on the bed. She quickly sat up. "Remember when T.K. told Davis that you like him, Kari?"

"Yeah…I remember. I was so mad at him," I softly smiled.

"You and T.K. have been through a lot…Haven't you?"

"Yep…I've known him since I was nine!"

Tai placed his hand on my shoulder. "Remember the concert? That was the best memory I can remember with all of together."

"Mimi gave me a shock that day," Izzy agreed.

I tightly closed my eyes. I held back the tears and nodded. I showed a smile. "Remember when Tai got hit by a car?"

Tai held his wrists and looked away from me.

"Sorry Tai, I didn't know you were still sensitive about it…"

"It's not that Kari," he sat next to Yolei on the bed. "I just never told you about something."

"Huh?"

"I-I…It's nothing Kari…Anyways, didn't you want to give Izzy a make-over?" Tai changed the subject to cover up what he was hiding from me.

Yolei and I turned to look at Izzy, we gave him evil looks.

"Uh…Uh…No, they didn't want to do that!" Izzy yelled.

"Tai! Kari! Dad's home! Come say hi!" our mom called.

"Be nice, we'll be back," Tai said.

I stared at the door, but didn't move. "Tai, I don't want to tell him."

"It will be fine…Don't worry," Tai smiled as we walked out.

"Hey guys, I can't stay long," Dad told us.

I sighed and looked at Tai. He stared at his wrists.

"Tai, how did the surgery go?" Dad asked.

"Surgery? What surgery?" Tai questioned.

"On your wrists…The one you had a few weeks ago when Kari was over at a sleepover."

"T-Tai? Why didn't you tell me?" I wondered.

"I didn't want to scare you," Tai frowned.

"That's terrible Tai! That's like me not telling Dad that I'm going out with Davis. Or like you not telling him you're going out with Sora…Or like Mom not telling him about my depression!" I screamed.

Our dad looked shocked and confused at the same time. "Depression? Kari, Tai, go to your room, I need to talk to Mom alone."

I looked down at the ground and walked to the room. Tai closed the door behind us.

"How did it go?" Izzy asked.

"Why didn't you tell me about Kari's depression? How long has she had it?" I heard Dad yell.

Izzy was standing in front of me. I fell into his arms crying.

"Kari, Kari, Kari…It will be ok," Izzy whispered.

"Nine? Nine!" Dad yelled.

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to yell at the doctors like Tai did!" Mom cried.

"No…It won't," I let go of Izzy and walked out the door.

"Kari!" Mom stared at me.

"I'm sorry Mom…I shouldn't of yelled that out. Dad, I'm also sorry…I should of told you when I figured out, but I was young…I didn't understand what depression was. I was nine; I didn't know any better. I hope you can both forgive me for what I did wrong," I frowned.

"This isn't your fault," Dad told me.

I sighed. "You just don't understand…It is my fault…Everything is." I walked back to the room and slammed the door behind me.

"Kari?" Tai questioned.

I walked over to the bottom bunk of the bed. I laid down and shoved my head in the pillow. "I wish I would just die right now! I don't want to suffer anymore. I'm sick of all of this!"

"But Kari," someone placed their hand on my back, "you have so much to live for."

I slightly turned my head to see Tai talking to me. "You don't know anything Tai. You don't know what I'm going through. I hurt in so many places…It's not even funny. I just don't want to feel anything anymore. I just want to jump on a plane and fly to a new life, but I can't."

"You have a great life. You have Davis for a boyfriend, you have Tai for a brother, and you have great friends," Yolei said.

"No I don't! I just want to die and stop living this life! Kill me now…Just get it over with…"

"Kari…Don't make me have to do what Davis did to you," Izzy threatened.

I tried to think about what Davis did to me. At school…He slapped me across my face. It's not like if I got another slap from Izzy would make a difference. "Go ahead…I don't care anymore."

"Don't care? You better start caring Hikari Kamiya!" Tai yelled.

I quickly stood up and whacked my head on the bed. I fell to the ground. "Why should I?"

Tai clenched his fist. "Because if you don't, you're going to knock yourself unconscious!"

The door quickly opened.

"Tai? Kari? What is going on in here?" Mom demanded.

"Mom…It's finally happening to Kari," Tai softly said.

_Happening? What is happening to me?_ I thought.

I was on the floor crying. I was in pain.

"We need to get her to the hospital. Tai, Izzy, could you carry her down to the car? Yolei, try to comfort Kari. I really wish this wasn't happening," she said.

_What's happening? I want to know!_

I looked up. Tai and Izzy picked me off the floor. They slowly walked me down to the car. Mom got in the car and quickly drove to the hospital. I still didn't know what was going on. I was scared. I was carried into the hospital and sat in a chair.

"My daughter suffers from depression, and she's in the bad stage…She needs to see Dr. Deemer right now," Mom told a woman.

"Right, we've been waiting…It's Hikari Kamiya…Right?" the lady questioned.

"Yes."

"Follow me."

Tai and Izzy picked me back up as I was moved into a new room with many machines.

_What's going on? I want to know what's happening to me!_ I thought.

"Hello Kari," Dr. Deemer smiled.

I looked away with a cold look.

"Kari? What's wrong?"

"Nothing you would understand," I said with a sting in my voice.

"I'm here to help you, please, tell me what's wrong."

"I don't feel like talking to you! There are only two people I want to talk to right now and that is-"

My mom's cell phone began to ring. "Hello…One second…Kari, it's T.K."

I pulled the phone from Mom's hands. "T.K.!"

"We're in the car on the way to my dad's…I couldn't wait any longer to call you," T.K. said.

"Could I have some privacy?" I asked everyone in the room. They left.

"What was that about?"

"It's terrible T.K.!"

"Where are you?"

"The hospital…"

"Uh…Did I call at a bad time?"

"T.K., Mom keeps on saying that something is happening to me. Something about the bad stage of my depression. I don't know what they're talking about!"

"Kari…I'll tell you."

"What? You know what is going on?"

"Once you told us about your depression, Tai told us to watch for something. He told us to watch for signs of…Major depression…"

"Major depression?"

"That's where all you can think about is bad things…Sad things."

"T.K., I'm scared."

"Don't be scared."

The door opened. I jumped up. "Davis!"

"Kari, I can tell Davis came…I have to get off the phone…We're almost at my dad's house. I'll talk to you as soon as possible," T.K. told me.

"Ok, thanks for everything," I hung up the phone and dropped it on the ground. I ran over to Davis and gave him a hug. "Davis…I don't want to fall under major depression."

Davis hugged me back. He pulled his fingers through my hair. "You won't…I won't let this happen. I won't."

I pulled away from him and fell to the ground in tears. "I don't want to be depressed anymore…I want to be normal like everyone else."

"No one is normal Kari," he sat next to me.

"I don't want to be me anymore…"

"But…I love this you…I couldn't love a different Kari."

"I just want to die, die, d-"

Davis stopped me by kissing me on the lips. I closed my eyes and fell back. Davis caught my head as our lips pulled apart.

"I don't want you to die. I want us to live forever…So our love will never be lost. I-I want to be with you forever…And I can't do that if you're dead. I love you Kari…I never want you to change. I wouldn't let you change," Davis told me.

"Dai…" I placed my head in his lap.

"Sleep Kari…I'll stay here all night, I promise…Just…Sleep," Davis whispered

I closed my eyes. "I love you Davis…" I fell asleep there.

"Kari," a voice said. "Kari, wake up." A person was shaking me.

I was shaking; I was cold. I opened my eyes to see that I was still laying in Davis's lap.

"You look cold…I'll warm you," Davis hugged me.

I looked around. "How long have I been sleeping?"

"All night."

"Did you get any sleep?"

"Yeah! I just let myself fall back and slept that way."

"That must have been uncomfortable…Why didn't you move?"

"I promised you that I would stay here all night…So I did."

I smiled weakly. "Why am I so weak?"

"They took some blood from you. That reminds me, take this," Davis handed me a pill and a little glass of water.

"Thanks," I took it.

"Are you feeling better?" Davis wondered.

"I'm weak, but better," I said.

"Good."

"Thanks for coming…And not leaving."

"I'd never leave you. You're my Kari…And I love being around you. I have to make sure you're ok…I hate seeing you get hurt."

"You're my healer and my pain…You're my weakness and my strength…But I wouldn't want it any other way."

"Sorry that you didn't get your sleepover with Yolei."

"It's ok…I needed to see you."

"You needed me?"

"Sure did!"

"Really?"

"Davis…I will always need you…"

"Stop being so sweet."

I laughed a little. I stood up and smiled. "I'm ready to go home…What about you?"

"Yeah," Davis said and stood up with my help. "Kari…Do me a favor…"

"What?"

"Don't ever say that you want to die."

I took his hand. "I won't Davis…That's a promise!"

We left the room and met up with Tai, Yolei, Izzy, and my mom.

The first thing I remembered from when I walked out the room was Tai giving me a hug. It was a shock, a big shock.

"Are you going to be ok? Are you ok? Is anything wrong?" Tai questioned.

"I'm fine Tai…Why all the questions?" I wondered.

"You're my little sister…I have to worry about you."

I was tapped on the shoulder. Yolei was smiling. I gave her a hug.

"I'm glad you're doing better," she said.

"It was nothing…Just a little mental break down," I winked.

Izzy hugged me from behind. "Little? I think it was a little bigger…But, you had your reasonings."

"I guess you could say that," I mumbled.

Mom walked up to me and handed me a pill bottle.

"More medicine?" I asked.

"Dr. Deemer said you needed something stronger," she explained.

I pulled the bottle to my heart. "I bet you my life that it won't help me."

"I couldn't agree with you more, but because you have plans today…We're not going to argue," Tai smiled as he pointed at Davis.

"That's right!" Davis smiled.

"Oh no! I better get home! Matt is going to be coming over soon," I remembered.

"Matt?" Tai looked confused.

"Yeah…I'm going over to his apartment for dinner…I almost forgot!"

"He called in the morning…I didn't want to wake you," Davis whispered in my ear.

I looked at the clock in the room. "4:30 already? I-I have to get home…I have to get ready!"

"Davis, you better get home. Yolei, Izzy, you should head home yourself. Kari and I better get home," Tai softly said.

"Right…Kari, we'll try the sleepover thing another weekend. Ok?" Yolei smiled.

Izzy yawned. "I'm going home and going to bed. Tai kept me up all night."

"Sorry Izzy…I was really worried about Kari. I couldn't help it," Tai frowned.

Davis slightly laughed. "I was worried about Kari, but I still got some sleep."

"Well, you were right by her the whole night. I mean, she was sleeping in your lap," Yolei said.

"How did you know that?" I wondered.

"I took a peek in at around 1AM. I wanted to make sure you two were ok."

"Kari, you better get going. It's already 4:45...Matt said he'd be at your apartment for 5PM," Davis pointed out.

"Right!" I walked out the door as Tai followed me. Everyone left the hospital and went home.

Matt was waiting at the door.

"I'm so sorry to make you wait Matt," I frowned as I walked up to him.

"Kari, Tai…Where have you guys been?" Matt questioned.

"Hospital," Tai said as he unlocked the door.

"Give me ten minutes. I have to get changed," I smiled at him.

"Uh…Sure," Matt looked inside.

"Come on in Matt," Tai laughed as we walked into the apartment.

I quickly walked into the bedroom. I grabbed a pink dress. I closed the door and changed into the fresh outfit. I combed my hair and put the clip back in. I grabbed my nice sandles and ran out of the room.

"Ok, I'm ready now," I looked at the clock.

"Don't worry. Dinner won't be there until 5:15...We have fifteen minutes to get to my apartment. It doesn't take that long," Matt laughed.

I nodded. "I'll be home later Tai."

"Ok. I'll talk to you when you get home," Tai smiled.

"I'll walk Kari home. She should be back no later than nine," Matt said.

Tai rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He waved to us as we left.


	10. Chapter 10

Matt and I ran all the way to his apartment. His dad greeted us and we sat at the table. For dinner we were having pizza.

"It's a shame T.K. had to leave," Mr. Ishida frowned.

I took a bite of my pizza and nodded.

"And there wasn't even a good reason for going to America."

Matt and I looked up.

"Mrs. Takaishi didn't tell you why they left?" I wondered.

"Nope."

"She found T.K.'s real father," Matt looked away.

Mr. Ishida was puzzled. "Real dad? I am T.K.'s real dad."

"What? I can't believe she'd do something like that! Sh-she took T.K. away from Japan for no reason. I-I'll kill her! I don't care if she's my mother…She can't do something like that!" Matt yelled.

"Calm down Matt. Lets just call T.K. and tell him," I decided.

Matt handed me the phone. I dialed Mrs. Takaishi's cell phone number.

"Hello?" T.K. answered.

"Hey T.K., it's Kari. I have to tell you something very important," I looked towards Matt.

"Important? What is it?" he wondered.

"T.K., you're mom lied."

"Huh?"

"Matt is your full brother. Mr. Ishida is your real father, not the man you're living with."

"No…Y-you're lying! I don't believe you!"

"You have to believe me. I'm telling the truth."

"No!" there was a click.

I put down the phone and looked at Matt. "He doesn't believe me."

Matt formed two fists. He stormed off to his room and slammed the door behind him. All of a sudden Matt began to yell. Something then broke. I walked over to the door and opened it.

"Matt?" I softly questioned.

"I hate her! I hate him!" Matt sat on his bed and held a picture in a picture frame.

"Matt…"

He threw the frame at the wall. It broke. I saw the picture that it held. It was of T.K. and himself.

"I can't believe that he won't believe us. T.K. thinks that man is his father," he looked at the floor.

I took a deep breath. "I have an idea. May I call Yolei?"

"Sure…"

I took the phone and dialed Yolei's number.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Yolei, how much money do you have?" I asked.

"Uh…About fifty dollars. Why?"

"We have to buy two tickets to America."

"What?"

"Mrs. Takaishi took T.K. away for no reason. Mr. Ishida is his real father. I called him and told him, but he doesn't believe me. The only way to convince him is for us to go to America and tell him inperson. You understand?"

"How dare her! Don't worry Kari, I'll get us the money. We'll be out of here as soon as possible."

"Yolei, you're the best."

"Ok, I'll talk to you later," she hung up the phone.

"I have to get home. I'm sorry about tonight," I frowned as I left Matt alone.

I quickly walked back home. By the time I got home it was 8:30PM. I was tire so I went right to bed. Tai was asleep too.

_"T.K., please, you have to believe me. This guy is a fake!" I yelled at T.K._

_"You're wrong," he moaned._

_Yolei looked at the ground. "You're an idiot. You rather believe your mom who is telling lies. I can't believe you."_

_T.K. rolled his eyes._

_"We came all the way out here and you still won't believe us. Who would you rather be with T.K., this fake dad or your friends?" I demanded._

_"He's not fake Kari!" T.K. shouted._

_"Fine, if that's what you believe…Our friendship must not be important to you."_

_"Huh?"_

_I looked away to hide the tears. "I just can't handle this anymore. I would have done anything for you, but you don't believe us…So why should I even care?"_

_"And, I can't wait any longer. Our relationship has gone nowhere. It hurts me to tell you this, but we can't go on any longer. I love you and all, but if you won't believe the truth…I guess this will have to be good bye," Yolei frowned._

_Anger filled T.K.'s eyes. "Fine! I don't need any of you! I-I can find better friends here. I-I'll have a new girlfriend who will care about my life and how I feel. I-I won't ever need you guys ever again…I never needed you guys to begin with!"_

_I raised my hand and quickly punched T.K. to the ground. "You jerk! You'll never understand how we feel! We trusted in you, you were my best friend…Now it's all gone. I can't believe you would put us through so much pain. We loved you…I loved you. Now…We can't stop what has happened…Now that we have drifted apart so much. Good bye T.K., I'm going to miss you, but it's for the best…"_

"No!" I slightly yelled. I jumped up and hit my head on the bed. "Oww…"

I stood up. My eyes were filled with tears. I turned to see the clock: 4:30AM. I decided to take a walk. I got dressed and walked to Davis's apartment.

"I know you aren't awake Davis…But I need you," I looked at the door. I walked over to a window. It was Davis's bedroom window. I knocked on it loud.

The curtains were pulled back. Davis gave me a shocked look and opened the window. "Kari?"

"I had another dream…"

"C-come to the door Kari. I'll let you in and we can talk about it. Ok?" Davis tried to smile.

I nodded as he closed the window. I walked to the door as it opened. I walked inside and we sat on the couch. Davis handed me a bottle of juice.

"Tell me all about it," Davis told me.

I took a deep breath. "Ok…I haven't told you this, but there is no reason for T.K. to be in America. Mrs. Takaishi lied. Mr. Ishida is T.K.'s real dad. So, Yolei and I have a great plan to get T.K. back. You see, I called him and told him everything when I was over at Matt's, but he didn't believe a word I said. Now, in my dream, Yolei and I go to America to convince T.K. that this guy he's living with is a fake. He still doesn't believe us. So, I told him that our friendship was over, and Yolei said that their relationship was over. T.K. told us that he could find better friends and an even better girlfriend where he was. I…I then hit him so he fell to the ground. I yelled at him and said that I loved him, but that our friendship has died. I said that we're no longer friends and that I would miss him. After that, I woke up in tears."

"Kari," Davis softly said and placed his arms around me. He let a sigh out. "Kari, we'll get him back. Do you already have a plan?"

"Yes, but I can't tell you here…No one other than our team mates can know. Ok?" I said.

"Right…We'll let everyone know today. We'll hang out, just us two, after T.K. is back," Davis smiled at me.

"Davis…I'm sorry I woke you up so early," I frowned.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm here for you…No matter what time or what day," he told me.

I sighed and slowly formed a smile on my face. "Thanks, I'm happy to know that."

Davis stood up. He pulled me off the couch and close to him. He slowly placed his lips on my cheek. He pulled away and turned around.

"I wonder if the others would be up," I giggled.

"I doubt it. It's only 5AM…That's way to early for our friends," Davis laughed.

An evil smile formed on my face. "Lets wake them!"

"Shh…Lets not wake up my parents and June," Davis placed his finger on my lips.

"Ok, ok! Get your phone…We have some calling to do."

He shooked his head and handed me the phone. He opened the front door and we walked out. It was funny, Davis was still in his pajamas.

"Davis, I'll get calling everyone…You should get dressed," I told the boy.

He looked down at himself. "Oh! I didn't even notice I wasn't changed. I'll do that right now."

I smiled and nodded at him as he walked back into the apartment. I slightly giggled as I dialed Izzy's cell phone number.

"H-hello?" Izzy stuttered when he answered his phone.

"Hey Izzy, it's Kari!" I chirped.

"Kari? Wh-what time is it?" he questioned.

"5:05AM…"

"Are you ok?"

"Not really…I'm just calling everyone to wake them up. We need to get together as soon as possible…I have something very important to tell everyone."

"Ok, call me back at ten and then we'll see if I'm ready to get up."

"Izzy! This is important! Get dressed, I'm going to call Yolei and she'll get Cody up."

He coughed. "So demanding…"

"You ok?"

"I'm a little sick…Don't worry, I'll be there."

"Take some medicine. How did you get sick?"

"Mimi and I were out late last night. It was cold…I gave Mimi my jacket…I was freezing!"

"You'll have to tell me about it later."

"Ok, I'll call Mimi."

"No! C-call…Tai."

"Right! I'll talk to you later," Izzy laughed.

"Bye Izzy," I hung up the phone and called Yolei.

She answered. "Kari! What's wrong? Why are you calling from Davis's? Is everything ok? Why did you call so early? Where do you need me to go?"

"Calm down. I need you to call Cody. We have to meet right away to tell everyone about our plan. This is very important Yolei…You know?" I explained.

"Don't worry! I'll even call Mimi for you…And she's mean in the morning."

"Oh, you're truly the best."

"Get calling the rest of the group. We'll meet at the tree."

"Of course!" I smiled to myself as I hung up the phone.

_Who next? Sora or Matt…Joe? Ken! I think I'll call Ken,_ I thought to myself.

I quickly dialed the Ken's cell phone number.

"I'm trying to sleep! Why are you calling me this early?" Ken yelled at me.

"Ken Ichijouji! Do not yell at me!" I shouted at him.

"Huh? Kari? Sorry…Bad reaction. Uh…What did you need?"

"Get dressed, get on a sub, and get to the meeting spot. There is some important information you need to know."

"Do the subs even run this early?"

"Ken! Come on…This is so important. Please, this is a time you shouldn't fool around."

"Fine…But could you at least tell me what is so important?"

"Mr. Ishida is T.K.'s real dad…He has no reason to be in America."

"Oh! Oww!" the phone dropped.

"Ken? Are you ok?" I wondered.

"Uh…Sorry, I dropped the phone…I tripped over a picture."

"A picture?"

"In a frame…It fell on the floor."

"A picture of Sam?"

"Huh?"

"Was it a picture of Sam?"

Ken didn't answer. I knew it was. The thought of ever losing my older brother scared me. I felt sorry for Ken. It hurt to know things like this.

"I'm sorry Ken," I softly whispered in the phone.

"Don't worry about it Kari. I'll be there as fast as I can," he told me.

"Ok, see you then."

"Bye," Ken hung up the phone.

I dropped the phone on the ground and fell to the ground in tears. The door opened; Davis came out. He rapped his arms around me and held me tight.

"What's wrong?" Davis questioned.

"I don't want to lose them," I mumbled.

"Lose who?" he asked.

"Any of them," I whispered.

"Is it about T.K.?"

"Yes…"

"Anyone else?"

"Yeah."

"Tai?"

I cried even harder. "I don't want to lose them."

"They're not going anywhere. Nothing's going to happen to them…I promise you that."

"T.K. doesn't believe me, and Tai has been lying to me. I'm going to lose them now."

"No Kari, you're not going to lose them."

"What makes you so sure Davis?"

"Don't do this to me again Hikari! I can't go through it again. It…It sc-scares me to…It scares me to see you this way! I just can't stand it anymore. I don't want you to feel like nothing is going right. I don't want you to have this pain that always creep inside you. P-please Kari, just tell me what I can do to make this all be better. Just…T-tell me what I-I have to do. I love you Kari, and I can't see you this way anymore. Sometimes…I-I f-feel like it's m-my fault…And I-I j-just hate that f-feeling!"

My eyes widened. "Oh Davis! It's not your fault."

"But you said yourself that I was your pain."

"Not this time…This time, I'm my own pain…I've always been my own pain."

The phone rang. Davis answered it. "Motomiya family, this is Davis."

I looked at him with a puzzled look.

"You're great Yolei. We'll be there in a few minutes," he hung up the phone.

"What was that about?" I wondered.

"Yolei called everyone else for us. We just have to meet them at the tree," Davis explained to me.

"That's awesome! I'm sorry about this little moment…I'll explain it to you later."

"Let me just put the phone inside and we can get going."

"I'll go in with you," I smiled as we walked in the door.

Davis placed the phone on the charger and wrote a quick note explaining where he was going. I heard a door open, and Davis's parents came out of their bedroom. Davis had grabbed my hand, not knowing his parents were coming.

"Davis…What are you doing up? And why are you holding Kari's hand?" Mrs. Motomiya questioned the boy.

Davis was shocked at seeing his parents and let go of my hand. June was standing next to them.

"Oh, didn't Davis tell you?" June snickered.

"Tell us what?" Mr. Motomiya wondered.

"Told you th-"

"That I had plans to see the sunrise with Kari and the rest of the group," Davis quickly said.

"You're a little late," Mrs. Motomiya giggled.

"Kari came over to see where I was…Of course I was still sleeping. You know me, I can never get up early! So, of course, I was going slow…So…We missed the sunrise. Now, we decided just to hang out since we're all up!" he nervously laughed.

"Davis is lying. He's hiding something, and I know what it is! I'll tell you Mom and Dad because I hate keeping secrets. Kari is Davis's girlfriend…They've been going out for about a year," June smiled.

"What?" his parents yelled.

"Uh…Let me explain," Davis begged.

"Oh, there'll be a whole lot of explaining mister!" Mrs. Motomiya pointed at him.

"Mr. and Mrs. Motomiya, this is my fault. If I knew Davis didn't tell you, I would have done it myself. I am very sorry about all of this. I really thought Davis told you, but I guess he was doing the same thing I was doing to my father…And even my mother for the first few days. I blame myself for Davis's actions, please, don't punish him," I explained.

"June, go to your room. Davis, call your friends, tell them both you and Kari will be a few minutes late," Mr. Motomiya told us.

"Davis is in trouble, Davis is in trouble," June chanted as she skipped to her room.

Davis went over to the phone and quickly called one of our friends.

Mrs. Motomiya pointed at the coach. "Sit guys."

"Now, Kari, I'm guessing your parents have already gave you the t-" Mr. Motomiya tried.

"Dad!" Davis shouted.

"Uh…I-I…" I stuttered.

"Honey, I think she has…You know that Davis has," Mrs. Motomiya said.

"I can reassure you that I have, but I think we're too young for you to be thinking about that. I mean…We're only fourteen!" I looked away.

"I-I'm leaving…I d-don't want to listen to this," Davis stood up.

"We're just joking Davis, calm down. Now, lets get talking seriously. Ok, we know you're a really nice girl Kari, so we have no problem with you going out with our son. You are very good for him…You'll teach him a lot. But, please, watch out for him. He can get in a lot of trouble…The detention on the first day of school is a great example. Kari, I'm very happy to see Davis pick someone as nice and smart as you. Please, just don't let him make you do stupid things," Mrs. Motomiya smiled.

"Mom! I'm better than that…You're treating me as if I was stupid. You always do, and I hate it! When will you treat me as if I was the teenager I am? I'm so tired of all of this stuff," Davis yelled.

"Calm down Dai…Calm down," I softly whispered to myself.

"Davis, leave, go with Kari to see your friends…We'll talk to you later," Mr. Motomiya pointed to the door and motioned us to leave.

Davis quickly walked out the door, I followed slowly behind him.

We walked to the meeting tree in silence. When we got there, everyone stared at us like we were strangers. I quickly walked to the tree and stood facing our friends.

"Sorry that we're so late, we had some issues with Davis's parents. Now, that isn't important right now. If Yolei would join me up here, I'll explain to you why we're all here so early," I tried to smile.

Yolei walked up to me and placed her hand on my shoulder. "I'll give you the honor."

I sighed and looked at my friends. "As we already know, T.K. is in America because he was told that his mom found his birth dad, but it was a lie. Mr. Ishida is really T.K.'s dad, but he won't believe me. So, I came up with an idea that shouldn't fail. Yolei and I will somehow come up with the money to get two tickets to America. We'll go to T.K.'s house, and we're going to get him back. Now, the hard thing is, our parents won't go along with this, so somehow we have to be able to pretend we're in two different places at once…Any ideas?"

Some of them nicely raised their hands so no one was yelling over each other.

"Matt," Yolei pointed at him.

"We could lie and say we got locked in the concert place again. It could stall for a day," Matt said.

"Don't worry Kari," I saw Tai holding Sora's hand. "I'll just say you had to stay at the flower shop for a very important project. Also, Yolei, you'll just tell your parents the same thing."

"We'll all pitch in a few dollars to get the tickets. We need T.K. back here," Ken decided.

"You guys can't leave until after Monday because Kari has to bring in her poem," Izzy smiled.

"Oh no! I forgot about that!" I yelled.

"Oh boy, so did I," Davis moaned.

"We better get home, our parents will get worried. If we need anything else, we'll call. Ken, because you wasted your money coming out here, I'll give you the money you need to get back," Mimi offered the boy a bill.

"Thanks Mimi, I should get home…My parents get scared if I leave too early!" Ken laughed.

"But the next sub doesn't come for an hour," Yolei said.

"You can hang out at our house until you're ready to go back," I smiled.

"I would offer you to come over, but I have a feeling I'm going to be in a lot of trouble when I get home," Davis looked away.

"What did you do this time?" Ken wondered.

"I don't want to talk about it."

I sighed. "It was your own fault."

"I know it was when I didn't tell them about going out with you, but they didn't have to put me down right in front of you."

"Huh?"

"It's like I don't get any credit. If I do something good when they're gone, they think it's June. I never get any credit. I'll clean my room, but they never seem to care. When I get good grades, they don't care anymore. It's like they're wanting me to fail. I just can't handle it! I hate how they treat me. I'm so much smarter that they think I am…I just wish they would notice. Of course, they're too busy watching their precious June! It's like they don't want me anymore…That's how they always were. I guess they don't really love me like I thought they did."

"Davis…"

"I hope they all die!"

I turned away. "I can't be around you when you're like this. When you're out of steam, give me a call and I'll talk to you about this morning. Davis, I want you to go home…And, next time, when you want your parents to know how they feel…Don't yell at them."

"You don't know anything…"

"Daisuke Motomiya! I know a lot more when it comes to this! I do know how it feels when your parents don't treat you the way they should. My mom treats me as if I'm weaker than I am…And my dad treats me as if I'm the strongerest person in the world. So, don't tell me I don't know anything! It hurts, doesn't it? When you cool down, we'll talk, but I don't want to lose my temper anymore than I already have. So, just go…I'll have Yolei make sure you go straight home."

"I'm not a baby."

"Well you could of fooled me!" I walked away to Yolei.

"Kari, I think your plan is going to work," Yolei smiled.

"Right…Yolei, do you think you can make sure Davis gets home? I'm not trusting him right now…He's having issues with his parents, and the last thing I want is him to run away," I frowned.

She nodded. "No problem! Anything for a friend!"  
"I would do it myself, but I don't think it would be smart of me to be around him when he's having such a terrible temper."

"Don't worry, I got it."

"Thank you so much! I don't know how to repay you."

"You came up with a way to get my boyfriend back to Japan, that's all I could ever ask for and so much more!"

I sighed. "I have to get going. I left early again…Tai probably wants to give me a lecture of some sort. We'll leave after tomorrow."

"No problem," she walked away.

I walked up to Tai and Ken.


	11. Chapter 11

"Ready to go?" Tai questioned.

"I guess," I mumbled.

"Don't worry, Ken's coming over, I won't yell at you for leaving early again…I just want to know why you left this time. You never did explain to me the first time."

"You ok?" Ken wondered.

I smiled at Tai and looked over at Ken. I put my mouth up to his ear. "I'll tell you when Tai's not around…He'll be leaving five minutes after we get home."

He nodded and looked over at Tai. Ken smiled and Tai smiled back at us.

"Lets go, I have to get ready for soccer practice. Mom has a cooking class…And, like always, Dad's at work," Tai told us.

"Just…Tai…Don't go after any soccer balls," I said as we began to walk.

"I won't Kari…I won't…"

We quickly walked home in silence.

Tai opened the door and walked in. He noticed a note on the fridge.

"It says, had to leave early, talk to you guys later, love Mom," Tai read.

"Was she up when you left?" I asked Tai.

"No, I left her a note," he looked on the counter. He moved a coffee cup. "I guess Mom just didn't see it."

I sighed. "Maybe she didn't know we left."

"Maybe," Tai smiled as he grabbed his bag. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I have soccer practice."

"Ok Tai, I'll see you when you get home."

He left us alone.

I quickly turned to Ken. "This is terrible!"

"What's terrible?" Ken wondered.

"Everything!"

"Kari, tell me what's bothering you."

I sat on the couch and motioned Ken to sit next to me. He did.

"Now, will you tell me?" he questioned.

"First, I have a poem to write for tomorrow. Second, I have to get to America without my parents knowing and get T.K. back to Japan. And, finally, Davis is being a complete jerk!" I frowned.

"Is that why you were late? Did you guys get into a fight?"

"No, well, kind of. I was kind of depressed after getting off the phone with you. Davis came out of his apartment and saw me crying. He was being all sweet about it. I told him that we needed to go, so I said I would tell him about it later. He had to bring in the phone, and his parents and June woke up. Davis was holding my hand as we were ready to go. His parents were asking why he was holding my hand. June told them that I was his girlfriend. Davis never told his parents about us being together…I never knew. Mrs. Motomiya was telling me how I'm good for Davis. That he isn't the smartest person and gets into trouble. Davis started to yell at them because they were putting him down right in front of me. After I told everyone when we met about the plan to get T.K. back, I was talking to Davis. He was yelling about his parents not ever caring about him. He was saying that they never care if he does something right anymore. Then…I began to yell at him. It was stupid of me, so I decided to walk away. I then had Yolei walk with Davis to make sure he went home. I would have done it myself, but I couldn't be around him with him that way."

"Sometimes you make me wonder why you picked him," Ken looked away.

"Huh?"

"Davis seems to put you through a lot of pain. Sometimes it doesn't look like he even cares about you. I mean, you seem to hurt a whole lot more when you're around him."

"I know it seems that way, but it really isn't. Davis will always care for me, just like I'll care for him…We just fight sometimes. That's what happens when you get someone with depression and someone that's a hothead together. Conflicts always happen, it's part of life and relationships. It's just…With my depression…It seems like our conflicts are bigger. That's what happens."

Ken looked away. "I'm sorry about the phone converstation. When you asked me if the photo I tripped over was Sam, it made me hurt."

I closed my eyes tight. I was trying to hold back the tears. _Sam was hit by a car. He was killed by a car. Why didn't I figure this out sooner?_

"You ok?" he asked.

"Sam was hit by a car…Right?" I wondered.

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

I looked at my wrists and couldn't hold back the tears anymore. "I hate this…I truly, truly hate all of this."

"Don't say that."

"But, it's true. You know it's true!"

Ken placed his hands on my shoulders and slowly rubbed them. He was trying to calm me down.

"It hurts," we said at the same time. At that point, I knew we were going to the Dark World…And this time I wanted to.

"Ah, the Dark World. This world is trash!" I yelled.

"Calm down," Ken told me.

"Why should I? It's my own head! I created this place!"

Ken covered my mouth. "We created it…It's our heads."

I pulled away and fell to the ground. I began to cry. "Take over my heart and mind! Do it just like you did Ken! Pull me away from the pain!"

"Kari!" Ken yelled.

"Take me away!"

Ken pulled me up by the arm. He quickly slapped me across the face. "You don't know what you're talking about Kari! You don't want this place to take over anymore than it has. It's no fun. Kari, you have to believe me. You're being stupid, and I hate seeing you this way. I don't want to be here anymore. Lets go back Kari…Please Kari."

"But it hurts…"

"I know Kari. It will forever hurt. It's something you'll soon have to learn to live with. Look at me…I have. I know you don't think it's worth the pain, but…Wouldn't you rather love instead of being locked away in here forever? Think about it Kari."

"I'm sick of thinking. My thoughts are what brought me here…They're why I'm so stupid! The Motomiya's are wrong! Davis isn't the stupid one…I am!"

"No, no, no, no, no, you're very smart. You know that Kari. Just, lets get out of here. Ok?"

Something felt weird. I didn't feel myself. It felt like something was trying to control me. "Help me Ken…Help me!" I fell to the ground in tears. I was right. The darkness finally got control of me. It took over my brain…And my heart.

"Kari, what's happening?" Ken asked.

"Help," was the last words I could get out before the darkness fully took over me.

"No! This can't be happening. Kari, you're stronger than this…Fight the darkness!"

I pushed Ken down. "The darkness will rule."

Ken quickly grabbed onto me and embraced me. He slowly put his mouth up to my ear. "Say it."

"Help," I managed to get out. Ken had said it with me, but it didn't happen. We didn't leave the Dark World. It was if we were trapped.

"Ok, lets fight the darkness. You can do it Kari," Ken looked around.

I was trying to find some sort of light. I mentally fought the darkness. At the point when I was almost finished, I found just enough light to hold myself together. I pulled Ken towards me. I knew I didn't have enough time to explain, I just did what I needed. My lips lightly touched his as I began to kiss him. Ken slowly kissed me back. I fell to the ground. The kiss broke the spell. I wasn't under the darkness's control anymore.

"Kari?" Ken questioned.

"I'm so sorry…It was the only thing that I could think of," I weakly said.

"It was nothing," Ken smiled.

"Then…Why did it feel like it meant so much more?" I questioned myself.

"Are you ok Kari?" Ken wondered.

"You're right…Having the darkness take over wasn't any fun," I faked a smile.

"Try having it take over for a long time. It slowly eats at you until you can't control it."

"Ken…I'm ready to go back now."

Ken grabbed my arm and rapped his around me.

"Home…"

And that was that. I was scared. Not just a childish scared, but a really great fear. I was scared that I would go back to the Dark World. Scared that I was going to be taken away with the darkness. But most of all…I was scared that the darkness was still taking over my heart.

Ken turned to me. "Kari…"

"Yes Ken?" I politely questioned.

"Is it ok?"

"Is what ok?"

"Is it ok that I liked _it_?"

I sighed and looked away. "Yeah Ken…If you're talking about the kiss, then yes…It's ok."

"I hope we never have to return to the Dark World."

"It's part of us Ken. We can never get rid of the darkness. I wish it was that simple…But nothing ever is."

"As long as the darkness isn't in your heart anymore."

"Right…"

"Kari?"

"Yes?"

"It's not all gone…Is it?"

"No…"

"Kari!"

"Calm down Ken…This will only hurt for a split second," once again, I couldn't control myself.

"No…"

"Sweet Ken, why must you fight?" the inner darkness wondered.

I was forced to shift my arm forward to hit Ken. He quickly caught it and pulled me towards him. I couldn't figure out what was happening, but when he pressed his lips up against mine, I figured it all out. Ken was trying to break the darkness, but all it did was put me in a daze.

_I can't do this…I shouldn't do this!_ I thougth.

I pulled myself away from Ken. I was weak and quickly fell to the floor. I couldn't hold back any longer, the tears swelled in my eyes and dripped down my cheeks. In my mind I knew Ken was trying to help, but in my heart I knew it was wrong.

_I'm sorry Davis…I betrayed our love…I don't deserve your trust._

Ken knelt down besides me. "Kari…I know I shouldn't, but I have to leave you this way. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I'll stop by the high school to tell Tai I left…I'll tell him what happened too."

"No! The things that happened must not be told. It will be a secret between us…It can't leave this room. No one else can know!" I warned him.

"Ok," he walked out the door.

After the door closed, I let myself fall hard on the floor. I turned onto my back and let the tears flow to the floor. I tightly closed my eyes hoping that this was just a bad dream, but it wasn't. After a few minutes of sobbing, I pulled myself together. I had to get the poem done for school. I couldn't let Tai see me this way, not again. The last thing I needed was another mental break down. I dragged myself to the bedroom and plopped myself on the bed. I pulled the notebook out of my backpack and hoped that the poem would just come to me. I had no such luck. I stared at the paper and thought about what has happened in my life. After an hour or so, I finally got the poem for class.

_Moved Away_, I thought. _You moved away. Left me in misery. Lost all my hope. I wanted you to come home. You were the only person that could understand the things I said; the things I did. I never got my way. I was lost in a darkness so great. I felt alone. I would cry myself to sleep. If only I got one wish, one thing to come true. I wanted you back; I needed you. A friendship could last. Even with this great distance. I wouldn't let it pass. I would never let myself lose such a person with greatness that you have. I wouldn't do any such thing. I would never forget the things we did; the friendship we had. One day we'll be brought together. Once again, we'll have the things we used to have. The friendship that was lasting so long. Good things happen. I would never let myself lose you. Not now, not my best friend. _

I thought my poem was rather good. I wrote it as I thought about getting T.K. back. I smiled at my work and let myself fall back in the bed. I closed my eyes tight and let out a sigh. I could feel the tears breaking through the cracks. My smile turned into a frown. I let go of the notebook and my pen. I gasped for air as the tears turned into an uncontrollable sob. I was thinking about too many things at once. The betray of my love, the loss of T.K., the fight for my life, and Tai's lying.

"Why must all the ones I love put me through so much pain?" I mumbled.

I threw everything off the bed. I opened my eyes and threw myself against the bed again. I couldn't control my crying. I was in so much pain. As I gasped for air, I finally came to a rest. I had fell asleep, but I was far away from getting rid of the pain.

I could feel myself tossing and turning in my sleep. It wasn't a restful sleep, but I needed to regain my energy…No matter how painful it was.

It felt like I was sleeping for years. I opened my eyes to Tai softly placing a wet cloth on my head. My first thought was to grab his hand; I did. A small smile grew on his face.

"T-Tai…What time is it?" I questioned.

"It's midnight," Tai said.

Midnight? It felt like forever passed after I drifted off to sleep.

"I noticed that you were having a hard time sleeping. It must be the thought of getting T.K. back."

I placed his hand on my cheek. I then noticed I was sweating and still crying. "Thanks for everything Tai."

"I wouldn't want another accident to happen."

"Tai, you should get some sleep. I'm better now that you're home," I was partly lying. I was glad he was home, but I was far from being better.

He kissed me on the cheek and climbed to the top bunk. "You know where I am if you need anything. Ok?"

"Right…"

I tightly closed my eyes. I let the tears easily form and fall down my cheeks. I knew Tai could hear my whimpering. It was at that point that I knew Tai would think it was more than just T.K. bothering me. At that point, I didn't care. All I could think about was about what I did to Davis. It's going to kill me to tell him the truth, but I just wouldn't let myself lie. Tai kept on mumbling things to himself. My mind finally shut off and blocked everything. I was able to let myself fall asleep, but I knew I was going to wake up to a cold sweat and more tears. No dreams comforted me that night. Not even a nightmare filled my mind. I had a feeling I was keeping Tai up. I couldn't control my constant tossing and turning. My heart ached, and I can only blame myself. The Dark World tried to take me over, and in the beginning, I wanted it to. So, I will never blame Ken for the mistakes I made. If Davis really did love me, I know he won't care. And, if I truly love him, I won't keep what happened from him.


	12. Chapter 12

I slowly woke up from my slumber. I looked at the clock and got out of bed. Lifting myself up, I peeked at the top bunk. Tai was still sleeping. Slowly, I shook him. He flinched and rolled over to look at me. Opening his eyes, he smiled.

"Hey…How did you sleep?" Tai questioned.

I looked away. "Better than I thought I would."

Tai jumped out of bed and down the ladder to the floor. He turned to me. "I heard you crying last night…It kind of made me scared. Kari…I was wondering…Is there something you're not telling me?"

"Uh, Tai, we better get ready for school," I grabbed a pair of shorts and a shirt. I walked to the bathroom to change.

I quickly changed. I walked out of the bathroom and put on my shoes. Without going back into my bedroom and without seeing Tai, I grabbed my backpack that was by the couch and left the house. I walked to school from there.

Most of the day was normal. I planned on telling Davis what happened after school. After lunch, we had to read our poems.

"Ok, Davis, you have the honor of going first," Mrs. Shing smiled.

Davis slowly walked up to the front of the class room. I softly smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up. He smiled back and showed me a peace sign.

"Go ahead Davis," Mrs. Shing told him.

"My Love," Davis began. "You're my shining star at night. The thing that makes me who I am. My saviour. My light. The hope I hold inside. Without you I'd die. To see you hurt makes me cry. I'm here for you, just like you are the same. I'm your healer. I'm your pain. But you said you wouldn't want it any other way. My love. My life. Without you there isn't a me. I'll be your knight in shining armor. I'll be what ever you wish. As long as I get to taste your sweet kiss. I wouldn't want my life to change. I'd want it to be forever the same. You see, I love you. I never want to hurt you. I'll never keep secrets from you. Please don't ever leave me. I would never be the same. You're my princess. My greatest wish. A glowing smile. Wonderous eyes. Full of light, right inside. Never change my love. I only want the person I met. Kiss me softly. Lets never let this night come to an end. Forever and always, we'll forever be true. It will always be just me and you."

"Very nice Davis. Please take a seat, Kari…It's your turn," Mrs. Shing said.

"Moved Away," I started. "You moved away. Left me in misery. Lost all my hope. I wanted you to come home. You were the only person that could understand the things I said; the things I did. I never got my way. I was lost in a darkness so great. I felt alone. I would cry myself to sleep. If only I got one wish, one thing to come true. I wanted you back; I needed you. A friendship could last. Even with this great distance. I wouldn't let it pass. I would never let myself lose such a person with greatness that you have. I wouldn't do any such thing. I would never forget the things we did; the friendship we had. One day we'll be brought together. Once again, we'll have the things we used to have. The friendship that was lasting so long. Good things happen. I would never let myself lose you. Not now, not my best friend."

"Wonderful!"

Student after student read there poem. Soon, the bell rang and school was over. I met up with Yolei and Davis afterwards.

"Ok, I know this is short notice, but we have to leave tonight. The only tickets I could get were for tonight at 4PM…We'd arrive in America around 8PM," Yolei explained.

"That's fine. The sooner the better," Davis smiled.

"Right. I just have to tell my mom that I'm spending a few night at the flower shop for a project. I'll have to stop at my house to get the bag I already packed," I agreed.

"Yeah, I'll do the same," Yolei nodded.

"I better get home myself. I'll see you girls at the airport," Davis left us.

I quickly ran home and met up with Tai.

"Where's Mom?" I asked him.

"Kitchen," Tai pointed.

"Mom!" I walked in.

"Yeah?" my mom wondered.

"I have this school project. I was wondering if I could spend a few days at Sora's flower shop. I know it's during the school week, but it's for school," I explained.

"That's fine…Is it ok with Sora's mom?"

"Yes."

"When are you leaving?"

"I just have to grab my bag and I'll be leaving after that," I said as I walked into my bedroom.

Tai was in there.

"Kari, I want you to be very careful. Don't talk to anyone you don't know. Get T.K. and get back as fast as you can," Tai told me.

"I know Tai, I'm not stupid," I smiled.

"Come here," he motioned me to move towards him.

"Yeah?" I slowly walked over to him.

Tai rapped his arms around me. "Just because you're not stupid doesn't mean you won't do something stupid."

"Right, I know. Don't worry," I hugged him back.

"I just care about you, but I'm guessing your flight will be here soon. I can't come, but you call Davis right when you get to America and right when you get back. He'll tell me everything."

"Ok Tai, but I do have to go," I said as I left the room.

I ran all the way to the airport.

"Davis, we're going to call you when we land. You have to call Tai and tell him that we've landed. Once we get back, I'll call you again. You must call Tai and tell him that too," I explained to Davis.

"Don't worry! We'll talk right when you get back," Davis kissed me on the cheek.

"Ok, come on Kari, we have to go get T.K. back!" Yolei smiled as she pulled me to the airplane.

Davis waved to us as the plane left.

"This is so scary," I told Yolei.

"The plane? Come on, you were fine when we went on one to see Willis," Yolei smirked.

"Not that! The thought of just going to T.K.'s house without anyone knowing."

"Oh, duh! I'm stupid. It will be fine."

Yolei and I talked for hours.

"Please buckle up, we're going to land," the announcer said.

"Landing?" I questioned.

"We're in America…Oklahoma, America," Yolei smiled.

As we landed, our excitement grew. Finally, we were let out and we grabbed our stuff. We ran to the bus station. After placing in our money, we went as far as we could go. After getting off the bus, we still had a couple of blocks to go. Our luck was pretty good up until that point. It started to pour rain. Yolei and I didn't think about packing umbrellas, so we ran as fast as we could. Finally, we were soaked, but we made it to T.K.'s house.

Yolei shivered as I rang the doorbell. A tall man answered the door. I guessed that it was T.K.'s pretend dad.

"Hello girls, what are you doing out in the rain?" the man wondered.

"Um…By any chance, does Takeru Takaishi live here?" I asked.

"T.K.? Yeah, he's in his room. It the only closed door upstairs. You girls just go right up there," he let us in the house.

Yolei and I hurried up the stairs. We looked down the hall and found the only closed door. Yolei knocked on it.

"C-come it!" a voice said.

I opened the door.

"T.K.? We came for you," I softly said.

T.K. was laying on his bed looking at a photo book. He slowly put the book down to look at us. A shocked look formed on his face.

"I know we should have told you that we were coming, but you would have said it was pointless because of our reason," I frowned.

He got off the bed and walked up to Yolei. He quickly kissed her nearly making her fall backwards. T.K. pulled away. "I missed the sweetness of your lips."

Yolei began to blush. I could tell that she was speechless.

"T.K., here, this will explain why we're here," I handed him a video tape.

"Ok," T.K. walked over to his TV and put it in. The tape began to play.

"T.K., we need you back in Japan. I know you didn't believe when I told you the truth, but you must. The man you're living with isn't your father," I was saying on the screen.

"She's telling the truth. You're not a half brother, you're a full brother," Matt joined in.

"I know it hurts to know that your mom lied to you, but wouldn't you rather be here with your friends?" Yolei wondered.

"T.K., I thought you already knew this. I'm your father. Your mother has been lying to you. She told me she told you, but she was lying then too," Mr. Ishida explained.

Tears were falling from my eyes in the video. "You have to believe us. We need you here…I need you here. We miss you T.K."

The video shut off.

T.K. hugged us. "I didn't want to believe you because Mom was so happy here. I could tell that Shawn, that's the man downstairs, wasn't my real father. We look nothing alike. I'm sorry that I yelled at you Kari…I've been under a lot of stress."

"Where's your mom? Kari and I are going to have a little talk with her," Yolei said.

"Come with me," T.K. smiled as he brought us downstairs.

"Kari, Yolei!" Mrs. Takaishi gasped.

"Oh, you already know T.K.'s friends?" Shawn wondered.

"How? Why? What are you girls doing here?"

"Came to get T.K. back. Sorry, he was in better hands in Japan," Yolei said.

"No he isn't. He's better here with his mother and father."

"Liar! His father is in Japan. T.K.'s father is Mr. Ishida. You both know it…We all know it! No more holding your secrets Mrs. Takaishi. Like it or not, T.K.'s coming back with us…We already got his ticket," I yelled.

"Wait, he thought I was his father?" Shawn questioned.

"You didn't even tell this guy about your lying plan?" Yolei demanded.

"Uh, uh…No…" she looked away.

"Mom, I'm going back to Japan with Kari. You have the choice of coming back with me…We still have the apartment," T.K. frowned.

"If you don't, Mr. Ishida is more than happy to have you stay with him," I looked at T.K.

"Fine, I'll come back to Japan. We'll go back to the way things were like before," Mrs. Takaishi decided as she stood up. "Now, we'll get me a plane ticket in the morning. All three of you can sleep down here in the living room. Did you girls bring clothes to where to bed?"

"Yep, we came ready!" Yolei laughed.

T.K. smiled at Yolei then looked at his mom. "Thanks for finally understanding Mom."

"Get them some towels to dry off with. Then, set up down here," his mom smiled.

We quickly dried off and got ready for bed. T.K. set up blankets downstairs for everyone.

"It feels weird sleeping over at your house," Yolei smiled.

"I think Yolei should be put in a different room…Does your mom even know you two are going out?" I wondered.

"Of course she does…I think?" T.K. laughed.

"T.K.! Does she?"

"I've told her…I'm not that sure if she heard me, but I did tell her."

Yolei began to giggle. "She knows…I've talk to her about it."

"You talked to my mom?" he demanded.

"Yeah! And there were baby pictures and the funniest stories I've ever heard!"

"Did she tell you about the one when he was five?" I jumped in.

"What? You're joking…Right?" T.K. asked.

"Of course, can't we joke around once in a while?"

"T.K.! Time to get to bed, I don't want to hear anymore talking!" T.K.'s mom told us.

"Ok!" we yelled back.

"Good night Kari, good night T.K.," Yolei whispered.

"Night Yolei, night Kari," T.K. softly said.

"Night T.K., good night Yolei," I giggled as we fell asleep.

After hours of sleep, I woke up from remembering something. Sweat was dripping down my face and tears flowed from my eyes. My weeping was loud; Yolei and T.K. woke up.

"Kari, what's wrong?" they asked.

Without saying a word, I got up and walked to the nearest door. I was lucky that it was the bathroom. I sat myself on the floor and let more tears come.


	13. Chapter 13

"Kari, come on, open the door," T.K. begged.

"What's wrong? Kari, we're here to help you," Yolei told me.

There was banging on the door, but I ignored it. I couldn't tell them what was wrong. I held myself close. My knees were up against my chest. I was slowly rocking back and forth letting the thought filled my mind. There was more banging, but I still didn't reply.

"Kari! Y-you're scaring me, please, just open the door before my mom comes down here!" T.K. told me.

That only made me cry more.

"Kari, honey, open the door," I heard Ms. Takaishi.

"She won't listen!" T.K. banged on the door more.

The banging startled me. I slightly jumped and started to gasp for air.

"Move!" I heard Yolei yell. I could tell she pushed T.K. out of the way. "Kari, I'm opening the door…Don't worry, everything will be alright."

_No, it won't be alright. I forgot to do something I promised myself I would do, and now I can never forgive myself for my stupid mistake. I was being foolish, first, I tried to have the Dark World take me over, then I forgot to tell Davis about what happened. I betrayed him…I betrayed our love,_ I thought.

The door slowly opened and Yolei stuck her head in. She looked at me and frowned. Slowly, she stepped in and sat by me. T.K. looked in and watched her.

"Kari, what's wrong?" Yolei wondered.

I looked away and gasped for more air.

"Come on, you have to give me some kind of clue."

"Kari," T.K. whispered from the door.

I tried to catch my breath, but I was having problems.

"It's ok Kari, take your time. We're going to be leaving in 30 minutes though," Yolei placed her hand on my shoulder.

I shot a look at T.K. to close the door and get out. He quickly left. Yolei looked at me shocked.

"I forgot to do something after school…Something important. And now, I will never forgive myself for my mistake. I promised myself that I'd tell him, but I forgot to because I was so caught up in coming here. Now, I'm scared that he'll never forgive me. It was my own fault…I let it happen, but…It still feels wrong. I should of told him, now I have myself to blame for what ever may happen when we get back to Japan," I whispered.

"Kari, I'm going to be honest with you, I don't really know who you're talking about, but I have a feeling that it could be a few different people. The past few years have been rough on the group, but you've always had it the worse. You're scared, I know, but you have to make the best of things. You can't just sit here and cry your eyes out," Yolei told me.

I looked away from her. I wiped my eyes, but I couldn't stop my crying.

"Well, we better get going. We have to change still. We'll be leaving in less than 15 minutes now. Kari, try to dry the tears a little. I can tell that this is painful and scary for you…Look at the way you're trembling. Just, try to calm down a little bit. I'll bring you your bag so you can change in here. I'm going to help T.K. get the rest of his stuff together. You can meet us up there when you're ready," she turned to the door and began to leave.

"Y-Yolie…Thank you," I smiled at her.

Yolei quickly got my bag and I quickly got changed. Shortly after that, I met T.K. and Yolei in his bedroom. We packed a few more things for T.K., then we were on our way to the airport. Once there, we quickly boarded the plane. Soon, we were on our way back to Japan. It seemed like a quick four hours. Before we knew it, we were back in Japan.

"Yolei, could you call Davis and tell him that we're back?" I asked.

"Can't you? He is your boyfriend," Yolei smiled.

I gave her an evil look.

"I was joking!" she walked over the pay phone.

"You guys should probably get back home and get settled back down. Don't let us hold you back, we have a couple things to do before we get home," I told Ms. Takaishi and T.K.

"Are you sure you'll be ok?" T.K. questioned.

"I'll be fine. Now, get going."

T.K. and his mom slowly walked away.

"Kari, Davis is going to call Tai. We better get going ourselves. Davis said that he was going to meet up with us and that Tai is going to join him," Yolei explained.

"Davis? Ok," I softly moaned.

We began to walk in silence. After 15 minutes, we met up with Tai and Davis.

"Kari, Yolei, I'm glad to see you girls made it back safe. How was your trip? Did you get T.K. back? Where is he?" Tai wondered.

"Calm down Tai. Our trip was fine. T.K. and his mom are going home to get settled back in," Yolei told the boy.

"Hey Kari, are you ok? You haven't said much," Davis noticed.

"We have to break up," I mumbled under my breath.

"I can't hear you…What did you say?"

"I'm breaking up with you!" I blurted.

"Kari?" Tai softly questioned.

"No," Yolei was shocked.

"You're joking, right Kari? It's just a joke…You're not serious…Right?" Davis demanded.

"I'm sorry Davis, but this isn't a joke…I-I have to go!" I ran away from them.

Instead of telling Davis the truth, I broke up with him. It was stupid, but the only thing I felt I could do. I hurt because of this, and I knew he did too, but I couldn't let him know what happened. So, I ran away from my fear of him breaking up with me, and I did it to him.

I was laying on the bottom bunk of the bed. Tears filled my eyes and flowed down my cheeks. The door to the room slowly opened and Tai walked in. He sat next to me on the bed.

"Kari, why did you do it?" Tai wondered.

"You wouldn't understand…I just had to," I mumbled.

"I'd like to know."

"I'm not telling anyone. I'm sorry, this is one secret that I don't want to tell. I don't care how much it eats me up inside, I won't tell a soul."

"Well, ok then. I'll leave you here to cry," Tai left the room.

I shoved my head in my pillow and let more tears come. This whole thing was tearing me apart, but I had nothing I could do to stop the pain.

"Ah!" I screamed into the pillow.

I pulled myself off of the bed and threw the pillow across the room. It knocked into a picture frame that held the picture Davis and I took over the summer. I slowly picked it up and placed up against my chest.

"I'm sorry Davis…I just couldn't tell you the truth. I wish I did…I wish I could, because I really do love you Davis, and you love me. I never meant to hurt you. I never meant to do anything to you, but like a jerk, I did. One day, I hope that we can at least be friends again because I know right now, you must hate me with all your might…I hate myself for what I did. I was trying to prevent you from a broken heart, but all I did was give you an even bigger one. Hopefully, I can one day forgive myself for my mistake, but what I did was wrong. I betrayed our love and went behind your back. Davis…I will forever love you, even if we aren't together. You're my only love, and I threw that all away," I told myself.

There was knocking on the door.

"Honey, may I come in?" my mom wondered.

"No! Leave me alone!" I walked over to the door and locked it.

"Kari! Unlock this door!" she yelled and banged on the door more.

I sank down to the ground and sat against the door. Another dose of tears came. Again, I started to have issues breathing, and I began to gasp for air. At this point, I had too many things eating at me. The fact that I just broke up with Davis triggered my depression which eats at my mind as well as my heart. There wasn't anymore knocking on the door, and there was no more begging me to come out. I finally thought they let me be, but then I saw Tai on the balcony. He opened the glass door and walked in. Before stepping in, he called for someone to follow him. Tai and Sora walked into the room.

"Hey Kari, I know you want to be left alone, but I can't do that to you," Tai walked up to me.

I gasped for more air and looked away. "Go away Tai. I don't care if you want to see me or not! I want you to leave, you can't help me! What I've done is done, there's no going back. I broke up with Davis, nothings going to change that."

"Hikari Kamiya!" he slapped me across the face.

"Ah! I hate you Tai!" I pushed him out of the open door. Quickly, I closed it and locked it up. Sora was still in the room and she looked at me shocked. I could tell that she was scared. More tears fell from my eyes. I didn't like her seeing me this way.

"I-I'll leave you alone Kari," Sora told me.

I covered my face with my hands. "I'm sorry you had to see that Sora."

"It's ok…You must be under a lot of stress."

"Yeah."

"Want to talk about it?"

I fell into Sora's arms. She held me tight and I began to cry. I couldn't control my sobbing again, and I began to gasp for air. Sora hushed me, but it didn't help.

"Sora, go out into the living room and get my backpack. I want to show you something. I'm going to lock the door, so use some kind of code when you knock," I told her.

"Ok, I'm going to knock once, wait two seconds, then knock two times, then wait another second, then I'll knock three times, and I'll add another knock until you open the door," she told me.

"Right," I nodded.

Sora left the room and I locked the door right behind her. Soon, she began to do the knock. I slowly opened the door and let her back in.

"Did that take too long?" Sora wondered.

"No, it was faster than I thought," I tried to smile, but I couldn't.

Sora sat down on the bed as I pulled out a binder from my backpack. I walked over to her and sat down. I opened up the binder.

"Remember how I told everyone last year that my camera takes pictures on its own? Well, when we had that little party in the gym for T.K., Ken and I went to the Dark World. I found out that my camera took a few pictures. In all of them, there are black marks that look like something flying in front of the camera," I showed her.

She held the pictures. "Creepy."

"But, that isn't the real reason I wanted you to bring my backpack to me," I pulled out a notebook and handed it to Sora. "Don't open it until you get home. Please, don't show another soul."

"I won't, I promise," she softly smiled.

"You better get going. When you leave, make sure Tai knows he can come back in, but I'm going to bed and I don't want him asking me anything."

Sora stood up. "Right." She walked out of the bedroom.

I got up and put my pillow back on the bed. I didn't bother to change or take off my shoes. I just put my head down and began to cry again. I let all the tears flow down my face. I didn't care how much I hurt or how much I gasped for air. I shut my eyes and held them down tight. Fighting to go to sleep, Tai opened the door. He didn't say a word, he just climbed to the top bunk and went to bed. Just like two nights ago, I was tossing and turning. Slowly, I fell asleep. Once again, I didn't dream and I didn't get a good nights sleep. I couldn't stay still and I woke up a lot during the night and each time I was in a cold sweat.

Finally, morning came. I slowly rose from the bed. Tai woke up and grabbed his school uniform. I grabbed my pink dress and my gloves. My hair pin fell out in the night and my hair was a mess. I searched for the pin on my bed. Tai walked up to me.

"Here," he handed me the hair pin and walked to the door. "You can get dressed in here…I'll stay out of your way today." Tai walked out.

"Tai!" I called after him, but there was no response.

I struggled to get dress. As I stood up to put on my shoes, I fell to the floor. I stayed there for a few seconds and held back the tears. Soon, I was dressed and ready to go to school. I grabbed my bag and left early. I was scared about what was going to happen. Only a few people knew about what happened between Davis and me. The scary part was that Yolei wasn't going to be there to comfort me. I walked out of the house and ran to the school. There was no reason to run, but I felt like something was chasing me. Running up to the classroom, I got stopped by T.K.

"Hey, what's the hurry?" T.K. asked.

"T.K.!" I fell into his arms in tears. I buried my head in his chest and let myself break down in tears. I wouldn't hold it back any longer.

"Kari, what's wrong? Did something happen between you and Tai today?" he wondered.

"After you left when we got back…I-I…I-I h-had to d-do something," I stuttered.

"What did you do?"

"I-I br-broke his h-heart…H-he h-hates me!"

"Why did you break up with Davis?"

"I did something bad and I forgot to tell him. I promised myself I would tell him, but I forgot to. I thought if he knew, I'd hurt him, so I broke up with him. Now, I just made it worse."

"Was that what was wrong in America; when you came to get me?"

"Y-yes…"

"It will be ok. Lets get to class before we're late," T.K. pulled on my wrist.

"I can't! He'll be there…And I can't bear looking at him. I don't won't to break down and cry in class! T.K., I can't!" I yelled.

"Just…It will be fine…Don't worry too much," he smiled as we walked slowly down the hall and into the classroom.

I sat myself in my desk and T.K. sat next to me. The door opened again and Davis with the teacher walked in.

"Take your seat Daisuke, I'll deal with this after class," Mrs. Shing told him.

Davis slowly took his seat next to me. I knew he looked over. I knew he was in pain.

"Ok, lets start todays lesson," the teacher began.

I started to zone out and couldn't hear the rest of her lesson. _I made a mistake. I betrayed our love…I know in my heart that this was all a huge mistake, but it's done. I can't take any of it back. The Dark World tried to take control of me. I just hope that I can over come all of this. Davis…I'm sorry…I'm very sorry. Please forgive me._

I lost control of my eyes and I looked over at Davis. I looked deep into his eyes and he slowly looked towards me. Davis quickly looked away, but I couldn't. I began to feel sick. My heart ached and I couldn't control myself any longer. I fell out of my desk and fell to the tiled floor in tears. The classroom door opened and slammed closed. I knew Davis left the room.

"Davis! Daisuke Motomiya! Come back right now!" Mrs. Shing yelled.

A hand was placed on my shoulder, another one on my cheek. T.K. was trying to comfort me, but I was too scared. More tears rolled down my eyes. My head started to hurt and I saw a black hole in my head. The darkness grew bigger and I knew what was happening. I was being sucked into the Dark World.

"Davis!" I screamed as I fell into the darkness.

I was surrounded in darkness. I was still crying, and I was still in pain. A white light appeared in front of me as a small, female body formed. I fell to the ground.

"If you're here to take me over, could you do it fast? I'm not in the mood," I told the thing.

"Don't be silly," a soft voice giggled.

"Who are you? What kind of evil are you?" I demanded.

"Evil? Kari, I'm not evil. I am one of the only good things in this place."

"How do you know my name?"

"You created me. I'm your guide…I'm here to help you find your heart."

"Find my heart? What's your name?"

"You haven't named me."

"Huh?"

"Kari, I am a part of your mind just like everything in here is. You created me and you get to pick my name."

"I want you to pick your own name…Something you like."

"Very well, you may call me Manny."

"Manny…"

"Let us begin, we don't have long until you are pulled out of here."

"Does Ken have one of you? What about Davis?"

Manny smiled. "Ken does, but he hasn't created it yet. As for Davis…You are one of the only reasons he was brought into this world. I guess if he really needed a guide, one would be made…But he never comes here unless you're here. That is why you're here…We need to figure out this Davis problem of yours. Please, walk with me."

"Ok," we slowly began to walk.

I was confused why I was in the Dark World and who this girl was still.

"You said something about finding my heart…What do you mean?" I questioned.

"Kari, you lost something very dear to you, and I'm here to help you get it back. It's going to be hard, and I don't have long to tell you about it. Lets just keep on going, soon your mind will figure out what is going on. Don't really worry about it, this journey will explain itself," Manny told me.

"This is too confusing. Can't I just go back to school? T.K. is probably worried sick, and everyone in the class…They're going to figure out my secret."

"Kari! That's not important right now! If you don't find out what's missing from your heart, the Dark World will take over your mind for good!"

"I already know what I'm missing…I'm missing Davis…I'm missing his love and his friendship."

There was a sudden silence between the two of us. Manny looked passed me and then looked away.

"I'm sorry…I shouldn't have yelled. Here, we've made it to our destination," Manny frowned as we reached a tall tower.

"This tower, it's the same one Ken and I saw, isn't it? I haven't been here since that day I told everyone about my depression," I looked away.

Slowly, we walked into the main room in the front. I remembered everything that happened.

_"Nobody's here," I said._

_"We can put people here," Ken told me._

_"What are you talking about?" I was confused._

_"Think about it Kari…If we really did create this place, we can make it how ever we want it. Like, let me think…It's really dark in here…Would you like some light?" he asked._

_"Sure, but there aren't any lights," I let him know._

_"Close your eyes."_

"_Ok."_

_"If we want light, all we have to do is think about it!"_

_"Right, we want light."_

_"Open your eyes Kari and be amazed!" he instructed me._

_I opened them slowly. "That is so creepy! It's as if we think of something it happens."_

_"It's kind of weird," Ken said as a door opened and something flew out._

_"Ah! What was that Ken!" I yelled as I ran by his side._

_"I'm not that sure…Now I am…Look Kari…Bats!" he told me._

_"I don't like bats! Do something Ken! You can save us…Can't you?" I asked._

_"Give me your hand Kari!" Ken reached out and grabbed me._

_"I'm scared, so scared!" I screamed._

_"Just, stay with me, you have nothing to fear…I won't let anything happen to you. Just stay close…Nothing's going to happen," he said as he held me._

_"I don't like this place, not now, not ever!" I cried as I closed my eyes and laid my head on his shoulder. I started to feel safe._

_"I don't like this place either," he softly said._

_I started to feel something on my head. "What's touching me?"_

_"It's just me, don't worry," Ken whispered._

_"I don't like it here, I really don't," I said weakly._

_"Why was this place ever created?" I heard Ken yell._

_After he said those words, the darkness started to fade away. I was thinking the same thing._

"Are there a lot of bats in here still? That was the scariest part when Ken and I came here, but Ken stayed right by my side and promised he wouldn't leave me. He's my protecter in the Dark World," I explained to Manny.

"Don't worry, this will bring us to the top of the tower. That is where all the information is held. I want to figure out what happened in here a few days ago…I want to know how the darkness took control of you and how you fought it off," she smiled.

I followed her up some stairs. "I already know how I got rid of the darkness and I know why it attacked me in the first place."

"You're talking about you yelling at the Dark World to take over your mind and the kiss that you gave Ken. Kari, those meant nothing, there are bigger reasons behind this."

"But, how will this help me find my heart? How will this help me get Davis back?"

"Kari, I can't help you with that. I have no control over your love or your life. I told you, I'm just your guide to help you find your heart, you'll be doing all the work."

We made it up the stairs and Manny went to a computer and sat herself down. I fell on the floor and began to cry.

I began to pound on the floor as tears flowed down my cheeks. "I don't want to lose him! I don't want this to happen again. I love him too much to lose him. I don't want to lose Davis like I almost lost T.K., I just can't do it!"

"Good, you're figuring out what's happening and you're starting to find your heart," Manny giggled as she typed on a computer in the tower.

A screen pulled down from the ceiling and an image of Ken and me filled the screen. It was when the darkness took over my heart. I began to cry again.

"Stupid Ken! It's his fault, isn't it? He had to stay that long…He just had to give me that hug."

"He was trying to calm you Kari. You weren't having a good day," Manny told me.

"That's when everything started to happen. Davis and I had a really bad fight and I never said I was sorry. It's my own fault that we're not together right now. I can't believe I'm so stupid!" I yelled.

Manny started to glow with a white light. She slightly smiled. "Kari, you're finally finding your heart. You can't blame other people for something you did by accident. You're a bright girl, you just need to learn that."

"How do you know all of this?" I demanded.

"Beacause I'm a part of your mind, this whole place is. It was created by you and Ken because of your depression. There's not really a darkness, it's just your depression. Davis was only pulled here because of your love for him…It was a threat to this world. His love over powered your depression, his friendship made you happy."

"But now without his love this world is trying to take over again. What about Ken, what will happen to him?"

"He has the love of Jordan protecting him…He has nothing to worry about, that's why his guide hasn't been made. Ken found his heart with the help of you and Davis."

"So, the Dark World is really out to get us?"

"Yes Kari, that's why you have to find someone, something to protect you from this place. You gave up your main protection, you have to find someone else to replace Davis or you have to get him back!"

I stood up and looked her in the eyes. "I will never replace Davis. He's my first and only love. Davis's love will always be with me."

"Kari, I have nothing left to say. You must return to class," Manny vanished.

I could see the light and I knew I was being pulled back into reality.

I slowly opened my eyes and saw T.K. holding onto me.

"Kari, are you ok?" he softly asked.

"I did something very bad. I broke up with Davis, and I really want him back," I whispered.

"T.K., bring Kari to the nurse. She's not looking that good," Mrs. Shing instructed.

"Yes sir…I mean ma'am!" T.K. corrected himself as he pulled me out of the classroom.

"Where did Davis go?" I wondered.

"I'm not that sure. Once you started to cry, he ran out of the classroom…He never came back. I guess it still hurts him to see you in pain," T.K. explained.

"I went to the Dark World T.K., and I figured something very important out. I figured out that I need to get Davis back. I figured out that he was the only reason the Dark World doesn't take over my heart and mind. I need him T.K., I need him back," I frowned.

"Kari, lets get you to the nurse."

"No! I'm not going anywhere…I'm leaving and I'm going to figure out where Davis is. I can't let him do something stupid. T.K., I'm scared, just like I was scared when all that stuff between you and Yolei happened. It's all happening too fast. I'm confused, but I know what I'm doing is right."

"Just give him some time. I'm having a little summer party type thing. I'm planning on inviting everyone to the pool for a little welcome back party for me. We have Thursday and Friday off, so I thought we could do it tomorrow. Please, just give him a day to calm down…You could use one to think about everything too," T.K. pleaded.

"I guess you're right," I agreed.

"Now, lets just stop by the nurse, pull off a lie and get back to class," T.K. decided.

"Right," I slightly smiled as we walked into the nurse's office.


	14. Chapter 14

"Kari! What's wrong dear?" the nurse wondered.

"I had a little fall out of my desk. Mrs. Shing just wanted to make sure I was ok," I lied.

"Oh, ok, then, why is T.K. here?"

"Um…Mrs. Shing just wanted me to make sure Kari got here ok…I would like to stay if that's ok. I don't want Kari to be hurt," T.K. smiled.

"Tell me what hurts Kari," the nurse said.

"Well, I think I might have a couple of bruises, but other than that I feel fine," I explained.

"Would you like some ice?"

"No, they don't hurt that badly."

"Well, if you don't want to lie down, you can go back to class."

"I feel fine."

"Ok, T.K., you make sure she gets back in one piece. Take care guys."

"Right!" we left the office.

"Kari! The nurse, she didn't want you to go home?" Mrs. Shing demanded.

"The nurse said that there wasn't anything wrong…She wanted me to stop falling out of my desk. I guess I could work on that," I smiled as I looked at the three empty desks where T.K., Davis, and I always sat nexted to each other. I was always in the middle.

"Oh, I should inform you guys that we have the school searching for Davis. If he isn't in the school, we're going to have a search team look for him. The last thing I want is one of _my_ students to run away!" she yelled as she motioned us to our desks.

I slowly sat back in my desk as I let Mrs. Shings words sink into my head. They were searching for Davis. It made it seem like he was wanted for a crime.

"Don't worry Kari, they're going to find Davis," T.K. whispered.

"But I want to find him. I want to ask him to forgive me. I want him to know that I really do love him, but just need a few days to think," I explained.

Mrs. Shing started to write on the board. "Get everything in your notes. This will be on your test Monday. I don't want to see a failing grade!"

I began to write the notes down, but I wasn't soaking any of it in. I turned my head and looked at T.K. carefully jotting the notes down. My mind drifted off and I began to wonder where Davis was. He could be anywhere, and it was all my fault. For all I knew, he could be dead and gone. I started to stab my paper with my pencil. I wanted to find Davis, but I couldn't. Time seemed to move by slow.

"Kari," T.K. tapped me on the shoulder. "It's time to go to lunch."

"Lunch! Maybe Davis will be in the lunch room! He always said that was his favorite place durning the school day," I said.

T.K. and I quickly walked to the lunch room with our lunches. We sat at the table that we always did, but Davis wasn't there.

"Davis isn't here! Where could he be?" I wondered.

"I don't know Kari. I'll call him after school to tell him about my party. I'll make sure he comes. We'll figure all of this; I'll help you," T.K. decided.

"But that means I'll have to wait until tomorrow and I want to see him now!" I whined.

"If you seem him now, you're just going to break down in tears…And he'll just run even farther."

"I know T.K., I know."

"Good! Now, you better eat up…I don't want you to faint because you're weak."

"I am T.K.! Don't worry about me!" I giggled.

"Ok! I'm sorry Kari…I'm just trying to be a good friend!"

"Well…Don't try so hard!"

T.K. looked away from me and down the rows of kids. He slightly jumped out of his seat and turned back to me with a nervous looking smile.

"What's wrong?" I wondered.

"N-nothing!" he stuttered.

I looked in the direction he was once looking at, but I didn't notice anything.

"Sit!" I heard Yolei's voice yell.

I quickly turned the other was to see Yolei standing by me. She was yelling at someone. I edged myself to the next seat to see who it was. A boy with brown, spiky hair frowned as he looked away from her. He wore his goggles around his neck. I knew it was Davis, but I wouldn't let myself believe that that sad face was the same boy I love. I looked back at T.K.

There was a few seconds of silence, but all of a sudden, I heard a hand hit a face. Yolei slapped Davis, but I didn't know the reason. I knew I had to give him more time, so I closed my eyes and thought about T.K.'s pool party. It was going to be fun. Fun…

"You don't understand! You're just being a jerk!" Davis's voice howled.

"Davis, if you walk out of this school again, you're going to walk away from everything you ever believed in. Do you really want to do that?" Yolei questioned.

"It doesn't matter…She already walked away from me," he softly said. I could hear his footsteps drifting off in the distance. At that point, I knew I broke him in a way I never thought I could. I told him I would never break his heart, but my promise was broken.

A hand lightly brushed my shoulder. "I'm sorry about that."

I was hoping I wasn't going to break down, but I couldn't hold it any longer. I put my head down and let myself cry. My heart ached and I knew what happened was wrong and a mistake. I could feel Yolei's hands on my shoulders, and T.K. had reached out and held my hands tight, but I felt distant from them. I couldn't let them know what happened, not yet. I wasn't even ready to face the truth.

"Kari, we're going to wait right here beside you until you're ready to go," T.K. told me.

"I don't feel like talking. I just want to go home and get ready for your party tomorrow," I mumbled to him as I heard the lunchroom doors open. We had been here for longer than I thought. The 7th graders were coming into the room.

"Kari, T.K., Yolei! What are you guys doing here? Shouldn't you guys be in class? And Yolei, shouldn't you be at the high school?" Cody asked us.

"Cody, be quiet! We're trying to calm Kari down," Yolei snapped.

"Sorry, is there anything I can do to help?"

"No."

"Where's Davis? He's always here when something's wrong with Kari."

I looked up. I stared straight into Cody's eyes as tears fell from mine. Slowly, I turned away and closed my eyes. "Davis won't be coming any time soon. I had to…" Before I could finish telling him what happened, I had a hard time breathing. I gasped for air and I cried even more.

"We have to get her home…She can't be here anymore. If anything, it's being here that's hurting her. Want to go home Kari?" T.K. questioned me.

I reached over the table and tried to hug him, but I was to weak to reach over so far. I fell off of my seat and onto the floor.

"Kari!" Yolei called. She quickly helped me back onto my feet. "Lets get you home."

T.K. walked over to me and grabbed my arm tight. He smiled at me and turned to Cody. "Yolei and I will come over when you get out of school to tell you what's going on. Ok Cody?"

"Right! Kari, take it easy…I don't want anything to happen to you," Cody calmly said as he turned and left the table. I knew he was going to sit by Liz.

"Come on, lets get going. We're going to help you get through this Kari…We're your friends and we're a team. We'll always be here for you. You understand?" Yolei told me.

"Yeah…I understand," I weakly said.

Yolei and T.K. struggled to get me home. I was weak and let them hold most of my weight.

After walking 30 minutes to my apartment, which is usually a 10 to 15 minute walk, we slowly made our way up the stairs. We stared at the door.

"Is anyone home?" T.K. asked.

"No," I frowned.

"T.K., you should get back to school…I'll stay here with Kari," Yolei decided.

"I'll stay with you," T.K. insisted.

"No, get to school."

"But-"

"Kari and I need to do some talking. We need to get deep down into this problem. Right now I think it would be better for just me to be talking to her right now."

"Ok, I'll call you after school's over," T.K. kissed both of us on the cheek and walked away.

I pulled out a key and opened the door. Yolei and I slowly walked in and went to my room.

Yolei sat on the bed and motioned me to join her. "Tell me what's on your mind."

I slowly sat down and shook my head.

"Fine, tell me anything."

"I hurt."

"Ok, good, we're getting somewhere. Now, why did you break up with Davis?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Right. Why do you hurt?"

"Because I want Davis with me."

"But you broke up with him."

"It was a mistake!"

"Explain to me how you're going to get him back."

"I don't know…"

Yolei got off the bed. Staring into my eyes, she spoke again, "Tell me why you broke up with Davis. Tell me what he did."

"He didn't do anything," I looked away.

"What's going on?"

"I-I…I cheated on him!"

"What?"

"Well…It wasn't really cheating. I kissed another boy. I think it was about two times in less than ten minutes."

"You should of told him. Davis would of understood. He always does."

"No! It's too late!"

"Kari…Who was it with? Do I know this other boy?"

I broke down in tears. I began to shake and got scared. I closed my eyes and pulled my self off the bed. I paced back and forth.

"Kari?" Yolei wondered.

I turned to her. "It was Ken!"

I fell to the ground. It was my first confession. Everyone always said that the first step to getting over a problem was confessing.

"Kari," she rubbed my back as I rocked myself back and forth.

"We were in the Dark World. Ken came over the day we decided what we were going to do to get T.K. back. You already know how Davis and I got in that fight. It was all too much for me to handle. While in the Dark World, I wanted to be taken away with the darkness, and my wish almost came true. It slowly took over me. Ken tried to help me, but nothing he said would have an effect. Finally, I was able to find some light, and I thought of the only way to beat the darkness. Without warning, I pulled Ken towards me and kissed him on the lips. Once we got back, Ken asked me if it was ok if he liked the kiss. I told him it was fine. It didn't feel like a kiss to save me, it felt like more. Then, the darkness took over my heart again. This time, Ken quickly kissed me. I broke the darkness and pulled away. Ken left me in tears and I made him promise to not tell a soul about any of it," I soflty explained.

"You need to tell Davis. Tell him at the pool party tomorrow. Tell him the real reason you broke up with him. I'll be with you the whole time. You won't be doing any of it alone. Kari, you need to do this. I can't stand seeing you this way. It not only breaking your heart, it's breaking everyone else's hearts too."

"You'll be there beside me?"

"Yes."

"I'll do it tomorrow…But not right away. I have to feel comfortable first."

"Are you going to be ok?"

"Yeah…You better get back to school. Or home. I don't know…"

Yolei hugged me. "My friends come before my schooling."

"Thanks," I got off the floor and we walked to the front door.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Also, do you want me to talk to Davis? I can see what happened and tell you. That's if you want me to."

"That would be nice."

She smiled and walked out the door. I closed the door and sat on the couch. Turning on the TV, I slightly smiled.

It seemed like hours until another person walked through the door. Tai greeted me with a smile and asked why I was home so early.

"I wasn't feeling good."

"Why didn't you get me? I would have came to see you. You know…Bring you home?" Tai said.

"Yolei brought me home, and we had a very helping coversation. Tommorrow T.K. is having a little pool party…Everyone is invited. My day went from terrible to pretty good. Oh, I'm sorry about what happened yesterday. I hope I never treat you that way again…I just needed to be by myself."

"You deserve your own room," he mumbled.

"Never! Who would I keep up all night when I'm sick? Who would comfort me when I feel sad? Better yet…Who would be there for me when I need someone to talk to, but I can't get myself to leave the room? You're the only one that can do those things! Tai, I like sharing the room with you…But if you need your privacy…You can kick me out anytime…You're the oldest," I tried to smile.

"Why was Yolei at your school?"

I smiled and even let out a little giggle. "She brought Davis back to school. I had a little break down and he ran out of the classroom. He couldn't handle seeing me sad. I guess he went to the high school. During lunch Yolei sat Davis beind me and tried to smack some sense into him. It didn't really work seeming he left again. I don't know where he is now. Yolei's going to call him when she gets home. Then she's going to tell me what happened."

"Homework?"

"Me? I don't know! I wasn't paying attention during class…I was having an off day."

"Well, I'm going to do my homework because I have plans with Sora this weekend," Tai smiled. "It makes me sad…I was going to invite you and Davis to come with us. I guess that won't happen." Tai began to walk into the bedroom.

"Hey Tai! You never know…It might still be possible!" I called.

He popped his head out. "Huh?"

"You'll see tomorrow at the party," I began to flip through the TV channels again.


	15. Chapter 15

After watching a few TV shows, the phone rang. I quickly grabbed it off the charger.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Kari! I just got off the phone with Davis. You won't believe what he told me!" Yolei yelled.

"What? Hurry, tell me!" I was getting excited.

"He told me he decided to take my advice. Davis didn't leave the school. Said something about even though the only person he could believe in walked away from him didn't mean he had to walk away from her. Girl, he said I was right! Oh, before I forget, T.K. said Davis was smiling during the rest of the school day. He wouldn't tell T.K. why though."

"He still cares?"

"About you? Of course he does! You know that boy is crazy about you."

I sighed and leaned against the wall.

"You ok? Are you starting to worry about Davis again?"

"Yeah…"

"Don't worry, I told him if he needed anything to call me."

"You're going to fill me in on everything?"

"Duh! Ready for tomorrow?"

"When are we meeting T.K. at the pool?"

"Around two. Come early if you want to…I am."

"Tai will be leaving at the same time as I am."

"Your point?"

"He'll be there."

"That doesn't matter. Make sure you bring a change of clothes…We're going out for pizza after we're done at the pool."

"I think I'm ready for tomorrow right now!"

"Be patient! I only wish that Willis could be here to share this with us."

"Willis! That reminds me, I should call him."

"Ok, see you tomorrow."

"You will…And I'll be ready."

"Perfecto!" Yolei chirped as she hung up her phone.

"Yep," I smiled as I placed the phone down. I slowly walked to the bedroom and knocked on the door. I waited for Tai to answer.

The door opened. "Why'd you knock? It's your room to!"

"I know, but it's a privacy thing," I winked as I walked in.

"What do you need?"

"Is it ok if I call Willis? I haven't talk to him since the first day of school."

"No need to ask. Hey, invite him to T.K.'s pool party!" he laughed.

"Tai!" I yelled as I walked out of the room and slammed the door behind me.

"No need to be mean!" Tai shouted.

I quickly dialed Willis's number.

"Hello?" a woman answered the phone.

"Hello, may I please speak to Willis?" I asked.

"Willis? Just a second," I was placed on hold.

I softly hummed to myself as I waited for Willis to get to the phone.

"Hey, this is Willis!" he laughed.

"Willis? Hey, it's Kari," I said.

"Kari? You never call anymore!"

"I know, I've been busy."

"Fill me in on everything."

"You aren't busy?"

"No, not right now. I was just getting ready to go out, but you're more important right now."

"Well…T.K. came back from America and he's throwing a pool party. Want to come?"

"I wish! What about you?"

"I broke up with Davis," I mumbled.

"What? You're lying! You'd never do that, not in a million years! Right?" Willis was shocked.

"Don't worry…I'm going to talk to him tomorrow at the party. I'm going to tell him I made a mistake. Yolei thinks he'll understand once I explain it to him."

"Hmmm…You better make sure I know everything that happens! I hate being left out, and I won't be getting back to Japan until winter time! I feel so unwanted."

"Willis, you know we love you over here! I mean, what would we do without our American friend? At least, I miss you. I still think about everything that happened with you here. Sometimes, I sit up in bed and wonder what it would be like if you lived here."

"Aww, you're too much…"

"I don't want to keep you too long. Don't be afraid to call."

"Same to you!"

"Get ready to go out."

"Right, bye Kari," there was a click.

I slightly laughed and put the phone down.

"Is that laughing I hear out there?" Tai yelled from the bedroom.

I walked over to the door and walked in.

Tai smiled at me. "I haven't heard you laugh like that in days!"

"Sorry, I'll try to control myself," I winked.

He didn't say anything back, he just stared at my dresser.

"You were late when you got home. And you came in with a bag from shopping. What did you buy this time? You're not much of a shopper."

"You broke the picture frame with you and Davis in it. I bought you a new frame, but I wasn't thinking when I got it," he took out the frame. "Here…You can still have it."

It was a deep red frame with a heart in the upper, right corner. It was beautiful, and much better than the boring black frame I broke. I took out the picture from under a stack of papers and placed it in the new frame. "Thank you Tai…I love it."

"Kari, will you be ok?"

I stared into his eyes. They were full of sadness and fear. "I'm not that sure yet."

"Want to do anything?"

"Aren't you doing homework?"

"I'll blow it off for you!"

"What do you want to do?"

"Hmm…I was thinking we could…Uh…Do what ever you want to do."

"I want to go outside and take a walk."

"Where to?"

"Maybe over to Yolei's?"

"Ok."

"No! I want to see Izzy!"

"Fine by me…Maybe he'll do my homework!" Tai laughed.

"You should just do your own homework."

"That's too much work for me."

"Aww, you're just too lazy!" I moaned as we walked out of the bedroom.

We slipped on our shoes and Tai wrote a quick note to Mom saying where we were going. I grabbed the keys to the door and we left.

We slowly walked down the road and found ourselves in front of Izzy's apartment building. We ran up the stairs and knocked on his door.

"Tai, Kari! Hey, come on in," Izzy smiled as he let us in.

We slowly walked into the living room.

"So, what are you guys doing here?" Izzy turned to me. "I haven't seen you in awhile. When was the last time I saw you…Before you left to get T.K.? I feel so left out!"

"Sorry Izzy…I've been busy," I smiled.

"Who cares…I've filled you in on everything. Now, what were we talking about…Oh yeah! You wanted to do my homework…Isn't that right?" Tai smiled.

"Of course…As long as you do mine," Izzy decided.

"What? That's not fair!"

"It's perfectly fair if you think about it. I get to do your homework while you do mine."

"Anybody want to do mine while we're talking about this?" I chimed in.

"You're only doing 8th grade work…That would be easy to do. Now, if you guys want to pay me a lovely fee of a dollar a problem…We have a deal!" Izzy laughed.

"Forget that! I don't have that kind of money!" Tai joined in the laughter.

I sighed and let out a small giggle.

"Oh, I almost forgot! Kari, how did it go with getting T.K. back? How mad was Mrs. Takaishi?" Izzy questioned.

"At first, Mrs. Takaishi was shocked that Yolei and I came. In the end, she gladly agreed to come back to Japan," I said.

"Really? It was that easy? Didn't T.K. argue?"

"No, when we walked into his room, he was so sad and miserable. T.K. said that he understood everything, and noticed that the guy they were living with was nothing like him."

"That's good."

"What kind of mom would lie to her son? It's so stupid!" Tai yelled.

"It is, but there's nothing we can do about it," I nodded.

"T.K. said he was having a pool party. I'm glad it's tomorrow and not Saturday!" Izzy sat down on the floor.

"What's so important about Saturday?" Tai demanded.

"You forgot? I told you two days ago. Every month Mimi and I make plans on Saturday. Most of the time we have a picnic and watch the stars until midnight."

"That's cute," I told him.

Tai scratched his head and stared at Izzy. "I don't remember you telling me any of this."

"You're hopeless!"

We heard the front door open.

"Izzy? Who's over?" Mrs. Izumi questioned.

"Come on, my mom's home. You should probably get going," Izzy smiled.

Mrs. Izumi walked up to us.

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to have company Izzy? Hello Kari, hello Tai," Mrs. Izumi greeted us with a sweet smile.

"They were just leaving," Izzy quickly said.

"Well, just because I came home doesn't mean you have to kick your friends out. Come on Izzy, I can't possibly be that bad!"

"No, I was just saying, it's getting late and their parents are probably getting worried."

"You guys stay as long as you want to. I'm getting ready to cook dinner. If you want to stay for dinner, that's fine by me."

"Mom probably won't be coming home until late," Tai nodded.

"We left a note, and if we didn't she'll get to calling over here," I agreed.

"Ok then, Mr. Izumi will be home soon, so we'll have dinner ready by then," Mrs. Izumi went to the kitchen.

"Come on, we can go outside for a little bit. I have something I want to show you guys," Izzy decided as he looked at the kitchen door. "Mom! We're going outside for a few minutes. Call me if we're not back for dinner!"

"Ok! Be careful honey," Mrs. Izumi called back.

"Right!" Izzy opened the front door and let us out.

"So, what did you want to show us?" Tai asked.

"Come on, it's over by the road," Izzy showed us the way.

We heard whistling. I looked over to see someone walking down the sidewalk.

"Who's that?" I looked at Izzy.

"Beats me!" Izzy laughed.

"Hmm…Is that…Sidney?" Tai wondered. "Sidney!"

The person walked over to us and smiled softly. It was Sidney.

"What are you doing all the way over here?" Tai questioned.

"I'm just taking a little walk. I sometimes get a little bored at my place. Anyways, I like to just walk around…It gives me something to do," Sidney explained.

"Makes sense," I nodded.

"What about you dorks?" she winked.

Tai slightly pushed Sidney. "We're taking a walk…No, we're following Izzy. He was going to show us something, but you interrupted it."

"Don't be mean Tai. Want to come with us?" Izzy asked.

"Sounds great! I can keep Kari busy because I know how much she hates hanging out with you two. And, I could use someone to talk to," Sindey smiled as we began to walk again.

We stopped by a tree. I slightly smiled. We were at the same tree that Davis and I climb a year ago when we had the water fight with the others.

"We need to climb it," Izzy explained as he went up the tree.

Izzy helped me up the tree and Tai followed. He help Sidney get up and we sat at the top.

"What's up with being in the tree?" Tai questioned.

"The sun is starting to set," Sidney pointed out.

"Perfect view!" I giggled.

"Uh…The sun set?" Tai was confused.

"Wait a few minutes," Izzy said.

After a few minutes, the sun was gone and the stars were out.

"Right there!" Izzy shot his arm out. "That star!"

"A star? Wow, that's really important," Tai rolled his eyes.

"Not just any star, it's the group's star. I got it named for us. It's called friends forever. I thought it would be cool to have something there for us until we die. You see, it won't turn into a black hole for at least a hundred years. By then we'll be dead!"

"That's so cool!" Sidney laughed.

"It was a great idea. How much did it cost?" I wondered.

"Oh, not that much," Izzy smiled.

"How much?" I demanded.

"Just a hundred dollars, but it will forever be ours. It was really worth it."

"It's great Izzy," Tai nodded. "Though, you didn't need to spend that much money on the team."

"It was a present…We need one once in awhile. Anyways, we should be getting back. Would you like to come over for dinner Sidney?" Izzy asked.

"Sure, as long as it's ok with your parents," she said.

"Of course!" Izzy stood on the branch, but he lost his balance and began to fall.

"Izzy!" I cried.

"Ah!" he screamed and there was a thud.

"Izzy!" everyone climbed after him.

I ran over to him. He was knocked out. I grabbed his cell phone and called his mom to come get him so he could be brought to the hospital. Tai, Sidney, and I all went with them. Once at the hospital, Izzy went to get checked on. We had to wait while Mrs. Izumi went with the doctor.

I was pacing the waiting room. "I hope Izzy's ok. This is terrible! What if he's really hurt? Could we have done something to prevent this from happening?"

"Calm down Kari…You're making me nervous!" Tai shouted.

"Young man, please lower your voice," a nurse hissed at Tai.

"Sorry," he looked away.

"Kari, I'm sure Izzy will be fine. He's a strong boy. Just try to calm down. You know everything will be ok," Sidney reassured me.

"I just can't help it…I hate seeing my friends hurt." I was are the edge of crying.

Mrs. Izumi walked up to us. "Come, on, would you guys like to see Izzy?"

I slightly smiled and nodded. Sidney and Tai followed me into Izzy's room.

Izzy was lying in the bed. His head and left arm were wrapped. His eyes were barely open, but he saw us when we came in and smiled.

"How are you doing?" I questioned.

"It hurts…Everything hurts so much," Izzy mumbled.

"Hang in there, you'll be ok," Tai reassured him.

"I just hope I'll be ok for tomorrow…I want to go to T.K.'s party."

"You will, you will," Sidney smiled.

"I'm sorry…I ruined our night. It was so fun until I fell. Stupid tree…No good, stupid tree."

I walked up towards Izzy. I softly smiled. "Tonight was great, just what I needed after what happened between Davis and me."

"You really think so?" he wondered.

"Of course!"

"Hey! What do you mean? What happened between you and Davis?" Sidney demanded.

"Kari broke up with him," Tai simply answered.

Sidney was shocked. "Wh-what!

"Don't worry, everything will be better by tomorrow. Right Izzy?" I questioned.

"Yeah! Tomorrow will be a good day!" Izzy laughed.

"I'm glad we got you to laugh. I would know that after getting hurt, laughter is the hardest thing to find," Tai softly explained.

"Is Tai being sympathetic?" Sidney joked. "That's something you don't see everyday!"

Mrs. Izumi walked into the room. "Are you guys ready to go home? Izzy is free to go now."

Izzy got up and I finally noticed something. I already saw the wraps on his arm and even his head, but what I didn't notice was that he was hurt. He was in the same possession as Tai was when he got hit by the car. Finally, it all came to me. I remembered about the day Mom and Dad got in a fight over my depression. It was because I opened my big mouth after I figured out about Tai's surgery! He never explained to me why he had it. I was never told, and now that I remembered about it, I wanted to know!

"Why did you have surgery Tai?" I mumbled.

"Huh?" he turned to look at me.

"I want to know now! Tell me why you were keeping it from me! And, Taichi, don't tell me because you didn't want me to be scared. I want the real reason!" I snapped.

"I-it's not important right n-now," Tai stuttered.

"Yes it is! Taichi Kamiya, tell me right now! I need to know!" I raised my fist.

"Kari!" Izzy held me back. "Don't do this right now. It's been too long, you've been doing too good. Calm down, don't have another outburst. Don't snap like you did last year…It's not worth it!"

"Kari," Sidney tried to place her hand on my shoulder, but I pulled away from her and Izzy.

"You're right, it's not worth it. Nothings worth anything anymore! We just live a world built on lies and hate. All it brings is misery and sadness. Why even try anymore? To try to find happiness? Love? None of that exists! Nothing's really real in this world, we're just a bunch of fakes…Meaningless fakes. Why do we even try to live in this world? We know nothing's going to get better. That's what I've decided. I'm giving up! Nothings worth it anymore! Nothing!" I fell to my knees in tears.

Izzy's cell phone began to ring. "Hello? Hold on. Tai, it's your mom."

"Hello?" Tai took the phone. "She what? At the hospital. Maybe…Yes! I will Mom, don't worry."

"Tai? What did your mother need?" Mrs. Izumi calmly asked.

"She found Kari's anti-depressants' bottle. Kari…Hasn't been taking them."

"I don't need them anymore! I don't want them! You said yourself that I don't need them!" I yelled.

"After what happened between you and Davis, you need more than those pills. You need some therapy!" Tai shouted at me.

My eyes widened. "What happened between Davis and me is none of your business!"

"Anything that happens to you is my business."

"No! This is something that happened between Davis and me, nothing with you."

"I don't care!"

"Well, you be-"

"Shut up!" Sidney screamed. I turned to her. "I don't care what you're fighting about, but it must stop. We're in a hospital, this is no place to fight. Can't you see, Izzy got hurt and all you care about right now is your family issues. Yes, they're important, but you should also be caring about Izzy. Tai, you need to calm yourself down. You have no right to be budding into other people's business. Kari, you shouldn't have stopped taking your medician. No matter how happy you may feel, you need to keep taking it until the doctors tell you to stop. I hate when people are like this. You're supposed to be brother and sister, but the way you've been acting, you seen like an old grandpa and grandma who have been married fifty years! Now, stop acting like a bunch of fools and start acting the way you should!"

"I'm sorry Izzy," Tai mumbled.

I looked to the door. "Is it ok if I go home now?"

"I'll walk with you. Mom, could you drive Sidney and Tai home? I'll meet up with you later," Izzy decided for us.

"Are you sure you're up to walking?" Mrs. Izumi questioned.

"I'll be fine! Lets get going Kari," he opened the door and walked out. I followed him.

Slowly, we began to walk out of the hospital. Soon, we were on the way to my apartment building.

It was dark out, not a single star lit the sky. Izzy stayed close to me as we tried to find our way through the darkness. I looked over to him. Trying to find the right words to say, I opened my mouth. Sadly, no words came out.

"Don't say anything," Izzy glanced at me.

His words stung. I felt my heart pounding in my chest.

"Uh, that came out the wrong way. Kari, I quess I'm a little stressed out."

"It's ok," I mumbled. "I haven't been myself either."

"That rough without him?" he questioned.

"What?"

"Without Davis. Is it hard not having him around?"

"He'll always be around. I can feel him breathing on me every second of the day. No matter where we might be, he'll be there. We may be apart physically, but mentally, we'll always be together," I explained to him.

"Oh, that makes sense," Izzy nodded as we made our way up the stairs to the door of my apartment.

"Well, you can come in and wait for your mom," I smiled.

"Nah, I'll wait downstairs."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, don't worry, I'll be fine!" he laughed and headed back down.

"Ok then, bye," I waved.

"Bye," Izzy slightly smiled and waved back.

I walked into the apartment.

"Kari! Where's Tai?" my mom asked.

"He'll be here shortly. I left before him," I told her.

"By yourself?"

"Izzy walked me home."

"Oh, ok," she went back to the kitchen.

"Mom, I'm sorry," I admitted.

She turned to me. "For what?"

"I haven't been myself lately. Have I? I shouldn't have stopped taking my medicine. I just felt like I didn't need it anymore. I was so happy, I felt like I could get off of it. I was wrong, wasn't I? I've just been going through a lot, but you wouldn't know. I stopped telling you everything. That's the worse thing I have ever done. Mom, I'm sorry for doing all the wrong things. I'll try harder to go back to normal. It will be hard, but I'll try. I promise you Mom!" I began to let tears flow down my cheeks.

My mother held me. Softly, she tried to calm me down.

"I don't want to be stuck all alone. I don't want to be scared all of my life. Everytime I seem to gain something, I lose something else in the process. Why does it always happen to me? Why can't I just be happy for once? Why can't I just be normal?" I whimpered.

"You're not alone dear. There will always be someone here for you. No matter what happens, I'll always care about you. And, Tai and even Davis will always be here for you. Make something good out of what you lose. You don't have to be scared all your life, Kari, you have to force yourself to be stronger. It will be very hard, but it's all you can do. This happens to everyone, even Tai. You'll be happy, you just have to let yourself be. Kari, you're as normal as the next person, don't let anyone make you feel any different," my mom explained to me.

I closed my eyes and held back another set of tears. "I broke up with Davis."

Her grip became tighter around me. My words shocked her as much as they had shocked Davis. The silence made me know she couldn't find the right words to say to my comment. Finally, the front door crashed open and I knew Tai came home. Slowly, Mom let go of me. She was relieved that someone came to help her out a little.

"Tai! You're finally home," she let out a airy giggle.

Tai looked at me. He scanned up and down my body. He sensed that something was wrong with me. His eyes grew wide and he pulled up his arm. Slowly, he tried to reach for me.

"What's wrong with Kari?" Tai demanded.

"Nothing, it's fine Tai," she lied.

"It's not close to fine," I blurted.

Tai placed his arm on my sholder. "Don't worry Kari, it will be ok."

"No, it won't," I frowned before passing out.

I opened my eyes. I couldn't tell where I was or it was reality or not. I was covered with blanks and was on a bed. For some odd reason, I felt really safe. There was a wet towel on my forehead. I remembered the night when Tai came home and took care of me. After what happened between Ken and me, I was scared, but he was there for me. I pulled my arm up and touched the towel. It was cold, I was hot. I felt alone, I couldn't see anyone around me. I quietly began to moan. I wanted to know if someone was there.

"Kari, you're awake. I'm glad, I was scared," I heard someone speak.

"Davis," I mumbled. "Davis!"

"Kari!" a hand was placed on my cheek. "Snap out of it. Get up!"

"I want Davis! Where is he?" I demanded.

"You broke up with Davis! He won't be coming any time soon!"

My eyes widened. I was brought back to reality. Tears formed in my eyes. "Why did I do it?"

I finally noticed it was Tai that was talking to me. "I don't know, you never told me. I don't think you told anyone…"

"Yolei knows, I had to tell her…"

"So, you must have a reason."

"I do Tai, I really do. I'm just too scared to let anyone know. I don't want to admit my mistake."

"That makes sense Kari."

"I know you want me to tell you, and I know I can trust you with a secret like this, but I can't. Don't worry, you'll figure it out sooner or later. I promise you, you'll end up knowing what I'm hiding."

"What happen to no more secrets?" Tai wondered.

I slightly smiled. "Sometimes, just sometimes, you have to take back the things you say. This has been one of those times."

"That's understandable. Well, Kari, thanks for telling me that. I've been feeling like we were losing are communication. You know what I mean?"

"Even if I'm not talking to you, it doesn't mean I don't want to. Sometimes, you have to force me to talk. I like to lock things inside, you should know that by now," I winked.

Tai messed up my hair. "I know that, I've only lived with you my whole life." He began to walk out the door.

"Uh, Tai…Before you go, could you tell me something?"

"Sure."

"Where are we?"

"You're in the bedroom," Tai laughed.

"I am?" I jumped off the bed. A sharp pain shot my head. "Ah!" I fell to my knees.

"What's wrong? Come on Kari, talk to me," Tai pleaded.

"My head! It's pounding so hard! Why won't the throbbing stop?"

"Uh…Kari, hold on. Just calm down and take some deep breathes," he couched me.

I slowly inhaled and held my breathe. Trying to keep myself from screaming in pain, I let out the air. "Please tell me that ringing is the phone!"

"Kari," there was knocking on the door, "Yolei's on the phone for you."

Tai opened the door and got the phone for me. He then handed it to me.

"Hello?" I weakly said.

"Kari? You sound out of it," Yolei chirped.

"Sorry, I'm not feeling so good right now."

"Izzy called me. I also talked to Davis."

My face lit up. "Really?"

"Yep! He needed help with his homework."

"Yolei! I thought you got more information."

"Sorry, sorry. Izzy told me what happened. He can be so stupid sometimes! I mean, it must take a lot of talent to fall out of a tree."

"Yeah…"

"What's wrong Kari? You need to stop worrying about Davis. He'll be fine! I promise you, everything will be fine."

"I know, but it's difficult to believe it."

"Have some confidence! Don't be so down."

"I'll try Yolei, I promise."

"Good, get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye," I hung up the phone.

"You should get some sleep. It's starting to get late," Tai smiled at me.

"Are you going to stay in here with me?" I wondered.

"Huh? What? You want me to stay in here?" he questioned.

"Please, stay in here until I fall asleep…I don't want to be alone right now."

Reaching out his arm, Tai patted my head. "I'm going to go to bed too. We should leave early to get to T.K.'s little party."

"Thank you," I smiled as I walked over to the bed.

Tai climbed up to the top bunk after turning off the light.

"Good night Tai," I whispered up to him.

"Night Kari," he softly said back.

I smiled and drifted off to sleep. It was the first sleep I had that was restful. No nightmares, no tossing or turning, no waking up in a cold sweat, just calm dreams of nothing.

The phone began to ring and woke me up from my sleep.

"Phone," I mumbled. "Phone!" I jumped out of bed and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hey Kari, I just wanted to call to make sure you remembered about my pool party today," T.K. softly said across the phone.

"Thanks for the wake up call. If you didn't call, I might have slept all day. I remember the party, don't worry. I'm going to wake up Tai and then get ready. We should be there in less than an hour if Tai goes fast enough," I smiled.

"Don't rush yourself. Kari, before you go, are you ok? I haven't had a chance to talk to you since you left school yesterday."

"I'll be fine T.K., don't worry! All I need is to go for a nice swim."

"If you say so! I'll talk to you later then."

"Bye," I hung up the phone and went to wake up Tai.

Letting out a yawn, Tai smiled and looked at me. "Morning already?"

"Come on, we have to get ready for that pool party!" I turned away from him and began to search through my dresser.

"Do you even own a bathing suit? You didn't go swimming all summer," Tai joined me.

"I do," I stared at the two piece bathing suit.

"What about the Dark World?" Tai wondered.

My heart began to pound at the thought. Was Ken going to be at the party as well? "What about the Dark World?"

"The cut, is it still there?"

"It will be fine! I'll just say I got cut by something. Anyways, most of the people there know about the Dark World thing."

He nodded as he reached for his swimming trunks. "That's a good plan. You can get ready in the bedroom. I'll be waiting in the living room for you."

"Thank you," I waved him out of the room.


	16. Chapter 16

I quickly put on my bathing suit. I stared at myself for a minute after deciding what to wear over it. Slowly, I walked over to the closet and pulled out a silk wrap. It was long and dark pink so it wasn't totally see-through. I pulled it around my waist and tied it tight. Feeling liking I was exposing too much of my upper body, I pulled over one of Tai's sleeveless shirts. Brushing my hair, I searched for my sunglasses. As I found mine, I found Tai's and took them as well. Knowing that my hair would be getting wet, I didn't bother to clip it back, thought it made my hair look messy. Smiling, I opened the bedroom door, turned off the light, and left the room.

"I got the towels, are you…Is that my shirt?" Tai wondered.

"I needed a shirt to wear. Thanks for getting the towels," I winked.

"Lets get going then. Oh, and next time ask," he threw my towel to me.

I handed him his sunglasses and we left. It took us 25 minutes to get to the pool.

"Kari!" Yolei yelled and pulled me to the side.

"I'll be coming in a second," I shooed Tai. "What?"

"Just to let you know, um…Ken's here…And so is Davis," Yolei sadly smiled.

I let a small smile form on my face. "Good, I'll have to face them sooner or later. They both need to know the truth."

"You're happy? I'm glad, I'm sick of seeing you all down."

"I'm not going to be like that anymore. It's going to be hard, but I'll keep trying until I get it right. I don't want to be sad anymore. Uh, but I'll need your help, I can't do it on my own."

"I'll help, everyone will!"

"Then," I started to walk away, "lets get to the pool!"

T.K. walked up to me and smiled. "I'm glad you finally made it. I thought you were going to be one of the first ones here, and you end up being the last to come in."

"I'm sorry, I didn't wake up until you called me. I was having a rough night. You out of all people should know what I mean," I explained.

"That's ok, all will be better!"

"Yeah, lets jump into the pool and have a good time," Yolei dived into the pool.

"Where's Davis and Ken?" I questioned.

"Ken went to get something to drink, and Davis…I'm not that sure where he went to," T.K. said.

I looked around. "Lets get in. I'll talk to Davis after I get settled in."

"Is that what you want to do?" T.K. placed his hand on my shoulder. "I know this is my party, but I only want to do what will make you happy."

"What I want to do is plead to Davis for his forgiveness, but I have to wait a little longer. I need to distract myself from him until I know I can tell him the truth about what happened…The real reason I broke up with him. For now, lets just get in the pool and have a good time," I decided.

"Right, right," T.K. edged his way to the pool. Once he was ready to jump in, I went up behind him and pushed him into the pool. "Ah! Kari!"

I began to laugh. "You should should watch your step."

"Shut up…"

I looked away from T.K. and saw Davis walking towards the pool. His eyes looked so tired, and the way he was tense, I knew something must have kept him up the night before, and the thing was me. I couldn't help but stare at his sadness, but the minute he gave me a glance, I had to look away. He was hurt, and I was the one that put him through this pain. My mind was telling me to go up to him and tell him the reasoning behind me breaking his heart, but my heart knew it wasn't the right time. I just turned to the pool and tried to pretend like the boy I loved wasn't so close to me. I watched the other people I didn't know walk by and get into the pool.

"Kari, you should get in!" Cody called to me.

"Maybe later, I don't feel like it right now," I smiled. Slowly, I turned around, bumping into someone behind me. "I'm sorry."

"No problem. You must be Kari Kamiya," the voice was filled with joy.

I looked up. Standing in front of me was a boy my age. I knew I've seen him before, but I just couldn't figure out where. "Uh, yeah. Do I know you?"

"We met in detention. Just to refresh your mind, I'm Greg," he smiled.

"Right, I'm sorry for bumping into you," I slightly bowed.

"No problem," slowly, he tried to grab my hand.

I smacked his hand away. Quickly, he tried to kiss me on the lips. I pushed him off without hesitation. "What are you doing?"

"I was trying to kiss you."

Without thinking, I shouted, "I have a boyfriend!"

"Who? I don't see you here with anyone. Come on, I'm much better than anyone here," Greg held onto my wrist and pulled me near.

"Get off of me! I might not have a boyfriend right now, but the one I love is here, and I don't want him to think I don't love him anymore," I was almost in tears.

"Who cares?" Greg pressed his lips against mine.

In tears, I tried to scream, but couldn't.

"Get off _my_ girlfriend!" a voice yelled.

Greg pushed me away and turned away to look at the person who was standing behind of him. I closed my eyes. The voice that cried out sounded so familiar, but who was it? Finally, I opened my eyes to see Greg walking away from me. I looked up to see who saved me. Standing in front of me was the only person who I thought wouldn't come to my rescue…Davis.

"Sorry, I called you my girlfriend, but I could tell you weren't enjoying that freak ontop of you. Uh, sorry," Davis frowned.

With teary eyes, I grabbed for him. "I'm so sorry!"

He hesitated to hug me back, and when he didn't, it made me cry even more. "Sorry? Why?"

"I'm very sorry," I pulled myself off of him.

Davis stared into my sad eyes. His matched mine, sad and lonely. I could see his confusion. I couldn't take it anymore. His eyes put a spell on me as they glowed. And it happened…

"I kissed Ken! I kissed him, I liked it! He kissed me, I liked it! It was wrong, I betrayed you!" I fell to my knees. "I never meant to hurt you, but I just couldn't tell you the truth. Davis, I love you. I love you so much! I was just so scared, and we had a fight…I hate fighting with you. It just isn't fair! I hurt you for my foolish actions. I was being taken over. The Dark World is trying to get me, and the reason is because of our fight. The love you give me, it pretects me from the depression I have, without it, I fall deeper and deeper into this pit of hate and loneliness! I know you'll never want me back for keeping this from you for so long, but you had to know. I hate myself for hurting you the way I did. I'm so stupid! Just, please…Please, forgive me for my mistake. It's a mistake that I shouldn't have made, but I did. I love you Davis, no one will ever be able to replace what we had! I love you!"

Davis fell onto his knees. Tears filled his eyes. "I-I…I love you too, Kari. Don't worry about what happened between you and Ken, it doesn't matter to me. The only thing that matters is that you are happy. I just want to keep you as far away from depression as I can. You're all that will ever matter to me. I love you so much. Thank you for telling me the truth. Kari, I really do want you back…You're the only love I could ever have. You're my first and only love."

"Hey, Kari!" Yolei laughed. I turned to the pool. She pulled my arm and I fell back into the water. "Get in, the water's great!"

I pulled my head from under the water. "Thanks Yolei…" I looked at Davis, he smiled brightly. "Come join us Dai!"

"Ok, but don't pull me in," he quickly jumped in.

"Thank you Davis," I whispered in his ear.

"No problem," without saying another word, Davis kissed me on the lips.


	17. Chapter 17

Months went by until finally winter came. Davis and I moved smoothly after are short break up. T.K. began to spend a lot of time with his dad. Izzy recovered from his fall a month later and promised he wouldn't jump on a tree ever again. Now that winter came, everyone was getting into the Christmas spirit. Best of all, I got a call from Willis and he was on his way to Japan for our winter break.

"I can't believe Willis is coming back!" Yolei chirped.

"It's going to be really fun. I'm glad he came during our winter break! We'll be able to spend time with him nonstop," I smiled.

"I wonder how Hanna will feel about him spending his Christmas here," Davis frowned.

We were waiting for Willis to get off the airplane. Finally, we saw him walking through the door, but something was weird, he had someone with him.

"He brought someone?" T.K. questioned.

"A friend?" Cody wondered.

"I don't know," Ken nodded.

"Willis!" I laughed. I turned to the person he stood next to. "You must be Hanna. I'm very happy to finally meet you."

"Kari, how'd you know this was Hanna? You're good!" Willis looked around.

"You're so pretty. No wonder Willis liked you!" Hanna blurted.

"Hanna…"

"Oh! I'm very sorry! I'm Hanna. I thought it would be nice if Willis and I could spend our first Christmas together, so I decided to join him on his trip. I hope you don't mind. Anyways, I've wanted to meet all of you for the longest time. I've heard so many wonderful things. Oh, and I also wanted to see Ken again. It's nice to be back in Japan!" Hanna stared at us.

"Uh, well, welcome back," I was a little confused.

"She's weird," Davis mumbled to me.

"I'm scared," T.K. whispered.

"It's nice to see you again Hanna. You've grown up, but you haven't lost you're charms," Ken chimed in.

Hanna stared at T.K. and Davis. "I'm scaring you, aren't I? I'm very sorry. I'm a very friendly person. I feel like I can share anything with everyone. It's not always a good thing."

"Don't worry Hanna. I assure you that we are all happy to meet you. We're glad you could come to Japan. Also, I, honestly, am very pleased to have a chance to meet you. Willis has told us many wonderful things about you," Yolei explained.

"See, I told you it would be ok," Willis reassured the girl.

"Stop it! You're making me blush!" Hanna covered her face with her hands.

"Lets not stand here all day. Everyone wanted us to meet them at the concert place. Matt said it will just be our group," Cody jumped in.

"A singer? How nice!" Hanna giggled as we began to walk away.

We walked up to the doors and I opened them.

"I'll be back in a few minutes. I have to meet up with Liz. I promised her I would walk her here. She still doesn't know where it is," Cody turned around. "I'll be back soon, I promise!"

"Ok, don't take too long," I smiled.

"What about Jordan? Is she here?" Willis wondered.

"Yeah, she came here on her on," Ken nodded.

"Jordan? Does Kenny have a girlfriend?" Hanna questioned.

"Kenny?" Davis repeated.

"I told you not to call me that," Ken shook his head. "Yes, Jordan is my girlfriend."

"Willis never told me about that. I wish I would have seen you over the summer when you came. I just had to go to Australia that month! The things I miss," she complained.

"Calm down Hanna! You didn't miss much. If anything, be glad you weren't there. You see, Davis was having some issues over the summer break. Don't tell anyone, but he wets the bed still," Yolei lied.

"Don't tell her those lies! Anyways, it was _you_ who kept on complaining about the food. You kept on saying things about American food not being as good as Japanese food," Davis remembered.

"Well, you got air sick. That was nasty!"

"Argh! I did not!"

I noticed Hanna opening the door. I smiled at her and nodded for her to go in. Davis and Yolei noticed us leaving and followed us inside.

"Hey everyone!" I shouted.

"Kari! It's about time you got her. We started to get worried," Sora smiled.

"It was my fault. I held them up. I'm sorry," Willis frowned.

"I see you made it here safe. How was your trip?" Tai asked.

"It was fine. Thanks for asking. I see not much has changed around here. Tai, how are your wrists doing?" Willis nodded.

"They're ok. I'll never be the person I once was, but I can say I'm fine with how they turned out. It could have been worse. Anyways the surgery helped a lot. I've also started to do physical theropy. It's boring, but it's making my wrist stronger."

"That's good. What about you Izzy?"

"Lets just say I'm not doing much tree climbing anymore. Mimi won't let me. Though, now I get major headaches from hitting my head. There might have been minor brain damage, but it doesn't really matter," Izzy explained.

"Makes sense."

"Introduce Hanna, you idiot," I nudged Willis.

"Huh? Oh, right!" Willis blushed. He turned to look at everyone. "Before I go on any further, I would like you all to meet someone. This is Hanna. She came with me to visit everyone. We decided we didn't want to spend our first Christmas apart, and I knew no one would mind me bringing her."

"Hi," Hanna waved.

Mimi's eyes glowed. "Oh, wow! You're beautiful!"

"Thank you."

"So, no one has a problem with her being here. Right?" Willis wondered.

"I have a problem," Jordan stared at Hanna.

"Jordan?" Ken looked at her.

"Still mad at me? I see how it is, you just can't get over such a stupid thing. But that's ok! It's a part of the past. Now, Jordan, can't you just try to get along with me for the month I'm here? I mean, do it for Willis and everyone else. You don't want to be selfish, now do you?" Hanna winked.

"I will never be able to get along with you. I'm sorry Hanna, but I will never be able to forgive you for the things you have done to me," Jordan looked away.

"Jordan, can I talk to you?" Ken questioned.

Jordan and Ken walked out into the hallway.

_This can't be good_, I thought. _I better think of something to say!_

"When you guys were waiting for Willis at the airport, we decided on some things we could do over the break," Sora broke the silence.

"Really, what?" Yolei questioned.

"Well, we thought it would be cool to have another big sleepover. All of the girls at Yolei's and all the boys over a T.K.'s," Tai explained.

"I also thought it would be cool to have another lock-in type thing in here again. It could be really fun, but this time there'll be no stupid pranks. No break ups, only good times!" Sidney laughed.

"We were also talking about having a Christmas party. It could be really cool. We could decorate this place and invite our friends from school and everything," Izzy smiled. "We could also have messed up Christmas karaoke!"

"That sounds like a lot of fun. We'll have the best winter break yet!" Davis nodded.

"Yeah! We'll party until we don't have enough energy to move," Yolei agreed.

The door opened up. Cody, Liz, Ken, and Jordan walked in.

"Sorry it took so long!" Cody smiled.

Liz looked around. "Hi everyone."

"Who's she?" Willis whispered in my ear.

"Hey, Cody, introduce Liz to Willis and Hanna," I said.

"Oh, right! Willis, Hanna, this is Liz."

"Jordan, Ken, Cody, Liz, we were telling everyone about the plans for winter break. I think we're going to have a lot of fun," Tai explained.

"How could you hate Hanna?" Davis questioned.

"Are you talking to me?" Jordan wondered.

"She's your brother's friend…"

"I have my reasons!"

"But, that makes no sense!" I jumped in.

"It makes perfect sense," Jordan smiled.

"Why?" Ken asked.

"She's just jealous," Hanna explained.

"You stole my boyfriend!" Jordan yelled.

"He liked me better," she smirked.

"Why would you do that?" Willis demanded.

"I was doing the boy a favor. No one should have to suffer with Jordan. She's a two timing fool!"

"Don't talk about Jordan like that!" Ken shouted.

"Please, don't side with Jordan. You're a bright boy, Ken, you should know better. She tries too hard. She's not good enough for anyone. Don't you agree? Why are you even letting her hang out with you guys? She'll just stab your back again and again."

Willis was shocked. "Hanna, you're being rude. I brought you here to meet my friends. If I knew that you'd be acting so differently, I would have never brought you here to Japan. I wanted you to enjoy the winter break with me, but it was a stupid idea. If I knew you had so many problems with Japan, I would have never offered you to come."

"Willis…Calm down," I whispered.

"This is just too much!" he yelled.

I stood up. "I'm sorry, but I can't handle this either. It's all too sad, and that's the last thing I need to be around. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," I smiled. "Hanna, this isn't only your fault…It's my own. I have to figure some things out. You see, everyone will understand…I have problems."

"Please don't go," Davis frowned.

"I can't be around this…"

"Can I come with you?"

"Stay here, I'll be fine."

"Kari…"

"I can not let you go without someone!" Tai decided.

"Why?" I demanded.

"You shouldn't be alone. You need someone…Anyone. Please, don't go alone. I know what you're capable of doing feeling this way. Please Kari, do it for me," he begged.

"What do you mean you have problems?" Hanna wondered.

"So innocent…What I mean is I have a mental disorder."

"Disorder? What kind?"

"Depression. Yes, my happy self is one of the people in the world that carry such a hurtful thing."

"I hope you have medication! I would never want to be around someone with such a thing. I hate sad people!"

"But…You were around one for a long time," Ken joined in.

"I don't understand. Willis has depression?" Hanna questioned.

"No!" Willis shook his head.

"I do," Ken whispered.

"Too funny! Is this some kind of cruel joke you're playing on me? It's not that funny. Why are you all picking on me? What did I do wrong?" Hanna screamed.

"This is no joke. Hanna, this is our lives. If you wish to ever understand that, you'll have to start understanding us. That includes Jordan. You see, even the happiest person needs to cry. Just as the strongest person needs to be weak. You have to understand these types of things to understand who we are. If something as simple as depression turns you away, you better keep turning because that is the least of our problems," I explained.

"Kari, don't scare her too much," Ken backed me away.

"It's nothing scary…It's just the truth," Willis smiled at me.

"Truth or not, I'm super scared!" Hanna closed her eyes.

"Just so you know, Hanna, never mess with Kari the way you messed with me. Depression or not, she won't give up like I once did. Anyways, you mess with Kari, you mess with everyone else," Jordan snickered and fllicked back her hair.

"…That includes me…"

"Willis?" Hanna faintly called.

"So! Now that's over! Lets get with the having fun!" Yolei laughed.

"Sounds great! So, Willis, you'll have to be apart from Hanna while you're sleeping. We just need to figure out where you two will be staying…" Davis scratched the back of his head.

"I'm not even going to volunteer. The last thing I need is more people in my apartment!"

"That's true Yolei," T.K. laughed.

Sidney began to giggle. "Maybe we should just have a big sleepover here while Willis and Hanna are here."

"But, remember…No going to the secret place!" Matt yelled.

"I said I was sorry. I didn't know so many bad things could happen from going to one place. I was an idiot," I nodded.

"It's not only your fault…"

"Then, that settles it! We better talk to our parents before we decide this will be our final plan. I hope everyone will agree and let this sleepover begin!" Sidney jumped up.

"You're too cute," Matt looked at the girl.

"Heh, thanks!"

"We'll meet back here in an hour. Willis and Hanna can come with me and Tai for now. If all else fails, they can stay with us for the night," I decided.

"Good plan," Davis agreed.

"We could always have another sleepover at your apartment, Tai," Sora winked.

"No way! That took way to much effort!" Tai disagreed.

"We better get going. Come on, Hanna, Willis…Tai," I softly smiled.

"Right!"

I began to walk off, but was quickly stopped. Everyone walked out of the room as I turned around to see Davis and Ken.


	18. Chapter 18

"Kari…Are you ok?" Davis questioned.

"What makes you think I'm not?" I countered.

"No tricks Kari! We need an answer. You seem different today," Ken yelled.

I raised my hand and touched my cheek. "I can't help it. I swear, it has to be that Hanna chick. For some reason, she makes me feel weird. There's just something about her that makes me feel like she's hiding something. I just don't know what."

"You really think she's hiding something?" Davis looked at Ken.

"It's possible. She had a life before Japan and before America. Maybe something happened to her in Australia that she isn't telling us," Ken frowned.

"Kari!" Tai yelled. "Come on! I'm not babysitting _your_ friends!"

"Davis, Ken, I have to get going. I'll see you two later. I promise," I looked away.

"I'll be over at Davis's, so come stop by. We need to talk some more. We have some things to solve," Ken nodded.

"What about Willis and Hanna? I can't just throw them on Tai," I whispered.

Davis grew an evil grin. "No, we'll just throw them on T.K. and Yolei. They owe me anyways."

"Ok!" I walked away.

"I hope you didn't mind coming with us. My mom is very understanding. Out of all of our parents, we have the easy going one. Can't say much about my dad though…He's never home," I smiled.

"It's no problem. It will be nice to see your place again," Willis nodded.

"Yeah, but this time, I don't have a soccer club meeting! There will be no tears, no fights, and no mistakes. But, hey, there might still be pizza," Tai laughed.

"You're in a soccer club? What's so bad about that?" Hanna wondered.

Tai slowly opened his mouth, but before he said anything, he started to stare down at his wrists. He frowned a little. "I got hit by a car…"

"Oh!"

"But, don't worry about that!" he turned and smiled at Hanna. "I'm almost all better now! It wasn't much, just some hurt wrists. I'm ok now, they don't hurt like they used to. I'm ok, really…"

"Tai," I whispered.

"Sorry! Uh, look! Here's the apartment!" Tai raced up the stairs.

"He doesn't sound fine," Hanna noticed.

"Tai doesn't like to talk about that accident. It made him mad to see himself get hurt. I don't think he even thought that it was possible. Tai never could imagine himself in the hospital…Only me," I explained to her.

"It really killed his pride," Willis said.

"Come on!" Tai yelled as we slowly made our way up the stairs.

"Tai will one day be fine. It will just take him awhile. He's the strongest person I know; he'll never let something such as that accident bring him down," I looked at Hanna. "You understand?"

"I think so," she nodded.

"I see no harm with you two sleeping over at the concert place. But, under one condition. You must promise that you won't do anything funny," Mom decided.

"Somehting funny?" I questioned.

"What do you mean by that?" Tai demanded.

"I mean with Sora, or for Kari, Davis…"

"Ah! Mom!" Tai and I yelled at the same time.

"You two are too funny," Hanna giggled.

"Tai, make sure Kari takes her medicine. You guys have food over there right? I'm worried to have you guys go now. What if something happens? Will there be an adult?" Mom worried.

"I think we can handle ourselves! I mean, I am 17!" Tai protested.

"Anyways, there will be two adults there," I smiled.

"Really?" Tai looked at me.

"Isn't Joe 18?" Willis nodded.

I turned to him. "And Lilly will be there. She's also 18." I turned back to my mom. "See, we'll be perfectly fine. I think we're going to order pizza."

"As long as Matt doesn't cook! That guy just shoves anything together and says it's food," Tai complained about Matt's cooking.

"Well, I guess you guys will be going. Have fun. Oh, and it was nice to meet you, Hanna," my mom smiled and waved us off.

"Tai, take Hanna and Willis to the concert place. I have to go meet up with Davis and Ken," I smiled at my brother.

"No way! I said I wasn't doing anymore babysitting. I gave that up once you were old enough to take care of yourself!" Tai argued.

"Please…I promised them! Anyways, if you don't…I-I'll stop taking my medicine again!"

"I hate when you use that against me because I know you'll do that. Fine! But you're being rude. Leaving me with _your_ friends…"

I started to walk off. "But, Tai, you knew him first. You're the one who helped him."

"Stop using things against me!" he yelled back.

I knocked on the Motomiya's door. June quickly opened it and gave me a dirty look.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"I came to see Davis," I tried to smile, but couldn't.

June moved out of the door way. "He's in his bedroom with Ken."

I walked into the apartment and to Davis's room. I softly knocked on the door.

"Hold up! I'm coming! Ken…Get the door," I heard Davis yell.

_Davis…You can be so lazy_, I thought.

The door opened and Ken peered out. "Hey Kari, come on in."

"Kari!" Davis ran up to the door. "What are you doing here? What's wrong? Did something happen? Was it another nightmare? Did Tai do something wrong? Or was it Willis? How about Hanna? Ooo…Was it your mom?"

"Calm down. I said I'd come by, so I did," I smiled.

"Did you bring Willis and Hanna over to T.K. and Yolei?" Ken wondered.

"No…I dropped them on Tai!" I giggled.

"You're too much, Kari," Davis stared at me.

"Will you two be able to come to the sleep over tonight?"

"Mrs. Motomiya was a little iffy on it at first, but she finally caved in and decided it was fine for Davis to come along," Ken answered.

"What was there to be uncertain about?" I demanded.

"She's worried that something might happen between you and me. My mom keeps on getting on that stupid subject ever since she found out we were going out. She thinks I'm an idiot or something. She thinks _I'm_ going to try something funny. What a joke! I would never do anything like that!" Davis explained to me.

"My mom thought the same way, so no worries."

"Are you feeling better? I know that Hanna can be a pain. Did she cause any trouble?" Ken asked.

"Not trouble, she just kind of hit a sore spot for Tai," I frowned.

"What do you mean?" Davis questioned.

"He told her about getting hit by a car. It was painful for him. She just had to ask about him being in soccer club. But, hey, it was his own fault for bring it up. He tried to cover how much the accident hurt, but I could see through his terrible act. I don't think Hanna or Willis did though. I think they really bought that he could go from being sad and gloomy to being the happiest person on earth."

"I'm sorry," Ken apologized.

"It's not your fault. Ken, you're just too innocent. Too sweet sometimes," I winked at him.

"So should we be going?" Davis wondered.

"I guess we should. Have you heard from the others, Kari?" Ken looked at me.

"Not yet, but I bet Tai went to visit Sora. He should have figured everything out by now," I nodded as we walked out the apartment.

We walked into theo concert place. It seemed to be abandoned.

"Anyone here?" Davis called.

"Guess not," I mumbled.

"I'm going to call Jordan and tell her that I'll be spending the night here. Then, I'll call Matt to see if he knows what's up," Ken walked off.

"I guess if no one else comes, it will just be you, me, Ken, Willis, Hanna, Tai, and maybe Jordan. Wouldn't that be fun?" Davis smiled.

"As long as someone other than just you and Ken are here with me, I'm fine," I nodded.

"What's wrong with Ken?" he demanded.

"I'm just scared from what happened," I admitted.

"When you broke up with me. Is that what you mean?"

"Yes. When the Dark World tried to take over me, it was so scarey. It wasn't that I was trying to kill anyone, it was something else I was trying to do. When the Dark World took over Ken, it would make him want to kill me, but it had a different effect on me."

"What do you mean?"

"I think my inner darkness wanted me to love Ken, not kill him. I know it sounds weird, but I think that's what really happened. When I was taken over, I did feel like I was going to kill him, but it felt like I was going to take his heart and make it mine."

"You really think so?"

"I'm pretty sure," I nodded.

"Kari, are you serious?" Ken walked up to me.

"Ken! How much did you hear?"

"Everything about when the Dark World tried to take you over."

I sighed. "I should have told you this earlier. You should have been the first to know. You both should know that I went to the Dark World by myself. I went the day before T.K.'s pool party. The day that you, Davis, ran out of the classroom."

"I'm sorry. I should of stayed, it's just…" Davis stopped as the door opened.

"Kari! You in here? I brought you back your friends. That will be twenty dollars!" Tai yelled.

I walked up to him. "Tai! I'm broke, sorry."

"Tai decided to stop by Sora's before coming here," Willis explained.

"Why'd you run off like that Kari? You kind of made me worry," Hanna admitted.

"I'm very sorry," I slightly bowed. "I had to get Davis and Ken."

"I understand."

"Why couldn't they just come here on their own?" Willis wondered.

"Because Ken doesn't live around this area and Davis gets lost easy," I lied a little.

"Kari…"

Hanna walked away from us. I walked up close to Willis. "I had to talk to them about some things. One being the Dark World and what happened when it tried to take over my body. I was trying to tell them something else, but Tai had to come in. I can't tell them with Hanna here. I don't think she would understand the whole Dark World thing and I'm not ready to tell another person."

Willis patted me on the head. "Lets get over by the others."

"Don't pat me…!"

"If there are going to be all of us here, that means we're going to need to order a lot of pizzas. How many of us are there again?" Sora wondered.

"Twenty people!" I heard T.K. call from the other side of the room.

"But I only counted 18," I announced.

"We invited Josh and Al to come along. They should be here in a few minutes," Yolei explained.

"Without asking us?" Tai demanded.

"Even if we did ask, your vote no longer counts," T.K. smiled.

"What do you mean by that?"

"We voted on it a few days ago," Davis nodded.

"Where was I?"

"We voted to not tell you about the vote," Yolei giggled.

"Are you serious!"

"Tai…you're an idiot," I shook my head.

"How could you believe something as stupid as that?" Sora questioned.

"I don't know," Tai looked away.

"Hey! Anyone here?" Al yelled.

"Over here!" I waved her over.

"Thanks for inviting us," Josh smiled.

"Who are these two? I don't think I've ever seen them before," Al looked at Willis and Hanna.

"You two must be the friends Kari told me about. I'm Willis and this is Hanna," Willis explained.

"W-Willis? You're the guy from America, aren't you?" Al looked surprised.

"Yeah."

"Ken?" I heard Jordan's voice call.

"Jordan's here," he ran up to her. They walked back up to us.

"I saw the others as well, but I decided to come in. They were walking so slow," Jordan explained.

"That means everyone was about to come," I smiled.

"That's good, it's no fun with only some of us," Davis winked.

"What made you guys think you could just come in here?" Matt demanded.

"Really? Don't you have any manners? This isn't a place for your fun!" Siudney laughed.

"Kari told us to," Davis lied.

"What? Don't blame things on me!" I yelled.

Matt messed with Davis's hair. "So young, so stupid."

"H-hey!"

"Sorry it took so long, my father was having an issue with me going. He doesn't like me being away from the house," Sidney frowned.

"It's ok, the thing that matters is that you were able to come," Sora smiled.

"Sean was being an idiot. He was sitting there begging me to take him with me. My mom made me sneak out her bedroom window with out him knowing," Jordan explained.

"Mrs. Izumi and my mom were talking for hours! They just wouldn't let Izzy and me go. Just remembering that conversation…" Mimi shivered.

Izzy stared at me. "Hey, Kari, are you ok?"

"Huh? Yeah…Of course!" I nodded.

"Now that everyone is here-"

"Yolei! Where is Cody?" T.K. looked at the girl.

"He said he would come on his own. Cody wanted to wait for Liz. I guess they're still at her house. I don't really know," Yolei said.

The door opened quickly. Cody walked in with Liz beside him.

"Sorry for being so late," Cody apologized.

"My sister didn't really want me to come. I'm thankful that she let me come, but I kind of feel bad for leaving her all alone," Liz looked around the room.

"All alone? Won't your parents be there?" Sora wondered.

"Oh! I never told you guys, did I? Both, my mother and father, are dead. I live with my older sister, Emma. We've been living by ourselves for three years. My parents died in a fire while on a trip in Paris."

"I'm so sorry," I was shocked. She was such a happy girl, I would have never guessed that her parents were no longer with her.

"Please, think nothing of it."

"If you guys are ready, we can have some real fun now. I already ordered pizza for us. We can start talking about what we're going to do for Christmas and everything," Matt told us.

"Christmas is a family thing, so maybe we should spend Christmas morning with our family and in the afternoon we can get together here and give out gifts," I smiled.

"That's a good idea. We shouldn't leave out our families just because we want to spend time with our friends. If we split up our day, we can be with both," Sora agreed.

Davis nodded his head. "We can have another sleepover here too."

"That sounds like a lot of fun. You guys sure do know how to plan things out," Hanna pointed out.

"We've learned that we have too. In the past couple of years, we became real busy. Last year, we noticed that our group was splitting apart. We didn't want that," Izzy explained.

"So, we started to plan things out. Make days worth living. We never have a dull day anymore. We make sure we make time for each other. We never want to see the group go through a breaking. We don't want to ever risk breaking up again," Tai said.

Hanna's eyes widened. "Hold on, I no something! Willis told me this!"

Everyone turned to Hanna.

"Um…Everyday is dull when Tai is around!"

"I like this girl already," Sidney laughed.

"You better start running for it…Willis!" Tai stood up.

Willis jumped up and backed away from Tai. "Hold up, I didn't tell her to say that!"

"I'll kill you!" Tai began to run for Willis.

I saw Izzy pull his arm where Tai would trip on it. He fell flat on his face.

"Down boy," Izzy snickered.

"Oh, you're so going to regret that later," Tai pointed at Izzy.

Izzy closed his eyes. "You know you wouldn't hurt me. You wouldn't hurt anyone. On the outside you act tough, but we all no that you're just a big softly."

Willis sat back down. "See, and you said I was mean…"

"Izzy isn't being mean, he's being truthful," Davis told him.

"You're just as soft as I am, if not more!" Tai yelled.

"No way!"

"Yeah!"

"Prove it!"

"You can shine with me," Yolei, T.K., and I said at the same time.

Davis's face turned a bright red.

"I think that's good enough proof!" Tai decided.

Davis covered his face with his hands. "Why did you have to bring that up?"

"Because, it's cute," I smiled.

Yolei looked at Davis. "It shows that you have a soft side. Davis, don't think that having a soft side means you're weak or weird, because it doesn't. Having a soft side means you care, no matter how strong you are, no matter how mean you get, you can still be nice. You can still care."

"The bad thing is, you only turn soft around Kari," T.K. snickered.

"Yeah, you never show us yourt soft side. Come on Davis, say something cute," Mimi begged.

Davis turned to me. "Kari…" He walked up to me and placed his mouth by my ear. "No matter how much darkness lies in your heart, no matter how much sadness, you always smile. You always have such a sweet smile, no matter how much you're hurting. Without the strength you give me, I wouldn't be able to survive. No matter how much pain you hold, you always stay on the positive side. It's because of you that I can be this way. That's why I only talk to you this way. You're the only one that should know why I can say these types of words. It's because of our love."

I began to blush. "Th-thank you…?"

"You were supposed to let us hear!" Jordan complained.

Davis turned to her. "You know what, Ken is really lucky to have a girl like you. He needs someone who can joke around. He needs someone like you. I am sorry for what I said about you without even getting to know you. It was wrong of me. You really are a nice person."

"Uh…" she was stunned.

We continued to talk until the pizza came. After we ate, we talked some more and planned out what we were going to do for Christmas. I couldn't wait for the day to come. Finally, we became tire and decided to go to bed.

"Kari, could I talk to you before we go to sleep?" Hanna wondered.

"Sure," I nodded.

We walked out into the hallway.

"Kari, because of you I think I'm finally ready to admit something," Hanna explained.

"What is it?" I wondered.

"I used to have depression. Because of you, I remembered how painful it was for me. It started in Australia and continued to Japan, and even to America. The thing is, it wasn't just depression. I really hated my life. I was even suicidal. I tried to kill myself and everything. Of course, I stopped that, but not without getting permanent damange."

"Permanent damage?"

"I tried to kill myself, and I almost did. I was so close, but I lost too much energy, and passed out before I could finish the job. My parents weren't home, but when they came home and saw me in the bathroom covered in my own blodd, they rushed me to the hospital. I was already starving myself, so losing that much blood didn't help. I was so weak, and I still am. I had enough blood to live on, so I didn't get anymore. The doctor sais, that even though I am able to live, I will never be the same person. I gave up my suicidal ways when I heard the news. Though, I was still depressed.When I became popular in America, I became very happy, and I no longer had the depression. Though, I have to say Ken and Sean helped me a lot. Ken was my first friend here, but he never knew about the depresion, just like I never knew about his. Sean helped because he was my first love. We went out without anyone knowing, though I also loved Ken."

"Hanna, what did you mean when you said the news?"

"I…I could die any minute."

"You're lying!"

"I wish I was. I have so many problems, it's not even funny."

"Does Willis know?"

"I don't want him to know. I don't want him to worry like my parents do. I don't want him to have to suffer over this."

"What if you just die one day? Your parents will explain everything and he'll feel worse. You need to tell him. It may be painful, but you have to let him know."

"Why?"

"Because, don't you think it would be better if he knew all of this from you, not someone else?"

"He has been there for me."

"Willis will understand. He understood everything I ever told him, and there was a lot of secrets I kept from everyone. My depression was one of them. Willis was the reason I told everyone."

"But, it will hurt so much."

"I know. Believe me, I know…"

"Tell me about your depression. Please."

"Well, as you can tell, my depression doesn't always stay with me. I can be a very happy girl at times. My depression, it just comes at random. Of course, there are things that always trigger it. Some of those things include when Tai got hit by the car, when T.K. moved, when I kissed Ken, when I kissed Willis, when I broke up with Davis, when I kissed T.K., and so many more things. Of course, Ken and I have a connection when it comes to our depression."

"A connection?"

"Yes, we call it the Dark World…"

I ended up explaining everything to Hanna. I explained the Dark World, the reasons for all the times I fell under depression. I even told her everything about when Davos and I broke up. She was really understanding and loved talking to me. It felt good to get everything out.

"Kari, thank you so much. I now understand that Willis is the person who is keeping me out of depression," Hanna smiled.

I nodded. "As I told you, my depression is tricky. Davis is both the cause of my depression and the person who is saving me from it. It's confusing, but if I gave him away, I would never be able to be happy again. He's my healer and my pain."

We walked back to where we were sleeping. We quickly fell into a comforting slumber.

"Wake up!" I heard Tai yelling. "Come on! Up, up, up!"

I opened my eyes, but I could not get up. Davis had me wrapped up in his arms so tight that I couldn't move. He wouldn't budge and he wouldn't get up.

"I'm awake, but I can't get up," I frowned.

Tai placed his mouth by Davis's ear. "Davis, time to wake up."

Davis still didn't move.

"Get off my sister before I kill you!" Tai yelled in his ear.

He slightly moved. Davis pulled up his hand and hit Tai in the face. "Five more minutes June. Just five more minutes."

"Nope, get up now!" Tai pulled Davis's hair. "Get up, or I'll do serious damage to your already small brain!"

"Tai! Stop being mean!" I smacked his hand to get him to let go of Davis's hair.

"Good night!" Davis fell backwards.

"Davis…"

"Kari, don't," Tai begged.

I leaned closer into Davis. "Davis…"

"No, Kari."

"Davis…"

"Kari…!"

"Get up Davis."

"It's not going to work."

"Davis, wake up or I'll tell everyone every single cute thing you have ever said to me. I mean it!"

Davis jumped up. "Look at the time! I can't believe I slept that long. I guess it's time we get going!" He began to laugh.

I looked around the room. I saw Hanna pulling Willis to the side. I knew what she was going to do. She was going to tell Willis what she told me last night.

"Davis, do you always have a hard time waking up?" I wondered.

"Not really. It's only when I'm really comfy!" he smiled.

"You were a little too comfy," Tai poked him.

"Aww, don't be mean Tai," I smiled.

"Yeah, don't be mean," Davis stuck out his tounge.

"Please, don't say that!" I heard Willis yell.

"Oh no," I whispered.

"Kari, what's going on?" Davis wondered.

"It can't be true. I won't let it be!" Willis fell to the ground. I knew he was in tears. Hanna turned to me, frowning. I knew I was now needed.

"I'll be back. Stay here," I walked away from them.


	19. Chapter 19

"No, no, it's not true," Willis shook his head.

"Kari, what should I do now?" Hanna whispered to me.

I sat next to Willis. "Sometimes, Willis, the truth hurts. It's painful to know that someone you love might die. It's painful to know that someone you love is hurting. Hanna is hurting just as much as you are. Just think about it Willis, if it wasn't for you, she might have already been dead. You're the one keeping her alive. You have to be strong, no matter how scared or weak you may feel, you have to be strong. If you become scared, so will Hanna. She needs you. Hanna, she needs your love. Hanna can't cope with the pain without you. You have to help her."

"I'm scared to see her die," Willis sobbed.

"Don't you think she's scared to die? Willis, you are the one that can help her. You have helped me so much, now it's time you give your help to the one you truly love. Now it's time to give Hanna all the support and strength you have given me."

"Hanna!" he grabbed onto her leg. I could tell that he was truly hurt.

"I know, I know. Willis…Stay strong. Stay strong for me," Hanna softly smiled.

"I'll leave you guys now," I began to walk away. My arm was pulled back. I quickly turned to see Willis holding me back.

"How…How did I help you?" Willis questioned.

"You were there when I told everyone about my depression. Willis, you comforted me when Tai was in the hospital. I don't know what I would of done without you."

"Willis…" Hanna whispered.

"I'll do what ever I can to help!" he decided.

For the rest of winter break, Willis and Hanna stayed over at my house. The weeks quickly went by. Soon, it was Christmas Eve. I left Hanna and Willis with Yolei and T.K. and went out to do some last minute shopping with Davis, Ken, and Jordan.

"Why did you need to do last minute shopping? It's not like you to leave things until the very last moment," Davis wondered.

I pointed at a man dressed like Santa. "I just knew you would want to tell Santa what you wanted for Christmas."

"Don't you mean Ken?"

"Hey, don't get me involved with this. Unlike some people, I do have to do some last minute shopping!" Ken frowned.

"Are you serious?" Jordan demanded.

"No."

"I'm planning on baking some holiday treats. I didn't forget to buy presents," I explained.

"Chocolates good!" Jordan smiled.

"I like kisses," Davis decided.

"And, I don't think he means chocolate ones," Ken laughed.

"I'm baking cookies. I don't make chocolate," I giggled as we continued to walk down the street.

"It's kind of cold out here. Kari, are you sure you're warm enough? I mean, everyone has layers on and you just have that little sweater," Ken pointed out.

I looked at myself. I was wearing a sweater over a normal t-shirt and a skirt that went down to my knees. I also had on my winter boots. Slowly, I turned to Davis and grabbed onto him. "No, I'm fine."

"Don't think that I'm leading you. I don't even know what store we're going to!" Davis told me.

"Sorry, we're just going to the store around this corner."

"Remind me again why we came along?" Ken questioned.

"Because, I want to make sure Kari gets chocolate chip cookie mix," Jordan grinned.

I quickly turned to her. "Great! Who said I was baking the cookies for you? You know, I do have a family. People these days…"

We walked into the store. I grabbed a couple of different types of cookie mixes. I was going to have fun baking them later on today. After I purchased them, we walked out of the store. We walked Jordan and Ken to the subway station and Davis walked me home. I quickly ran up the stairs and into the door to see Tai placing presents under the tree.

"Hey Kari, want to help me?" Tai wondered.

"Well, I was going to make some cookies…"

"Cookies? Go ahead. I wouldn't mind some once they're done. You'll give me one or two, right?"

"Of course," I smiled at him.

I walked to the kitchen. I placed the different cookie mixes on the counter. I looked over at Tai to see him bringing out a radio from our bedroom.

"Do you mind if I play some Christmas carols?" he asked.

"Go ahead!" I nodded as I began to make the cookies.

Tai finished putting the presents under the tree as Christmas songs echoed in the room. After he was done, he helped me with the cookies. Soon, we were finished.

"Mom and Dad won't be home until late. They went out for a romatic dinner," Tai told me.

"How nice! We should get to bed. I can't wait until tomorrow!" I clapped my hands.

Tai patted my head. "You really want to know what you got, don't you?"

"No way!" I stared at his eyes. "It's my first Christmas with Davis. I can't wait to spend the day with him. I can't wait for tomorrow because of all the fun things that will happen."

Tai pushed me in our bedroom. "Lets get to sleep." He shut out the lights.

We quickly fell asleep.

"Time to get up," I was being softly shook by someone.

"Huh?" I turned to see my dad. "Morning already?"

"Tai's waiting for you. He really wants to open his presents," my dad smiled.

I jumped up. "Right!" I ran out of the room and sat by Tai under the tree.

"Go ahead," Mom nodded.

"Yes!" Tai grabbed his first present and ripped it open. He turned to me and noticed that I didn't pick up a present. "Open the one from me."

I picked up the small, wrapped box. Slowly, I opened in to find a silver bracelet with small pink and blue jewels on it. "It's so pretty. Thank you so much…Tai."

"It was hard to find you the perfect gift. I'm glad you like it."

We continued to open presents. After we were done we had breakfast and spent a few hours with our parents. Finally, around three, Tai and I got ready to leave. When we were finished, we headed for the concert place to see everyone else.

"Merry Christmas!" I yelled as we walked in.

"Kari!" Davis jumped up.

"Hey guys! I'm glab you two could make it," Sora smiled.

"Sorry, Kari took forever to get ready. Also, we had to make sure we brought all the gifts," Tai explained to her.

"With that said, lets open our presents," Matt decided.

"Yeah!" Yolei agreed.

Everyone began to open their presents. After all the presents were opened, we thanked each other. I looked around, I was missing a present. I didn't get one from Davis. He slowly walked up to me.

"I wanted to give this to you myself," Davis handed me the small box.

I opened it to find a small, diamond ring. "Oh, Davis! It's so beautiful!"

"I thought you might like it. It took me forever to think of something to get you, but when I saw this ring, it called me. It was perfect for you."

"It must have cost so much."

"Nothing costs too much when it comes to you."

I reached out and hugged Davis. "Thank you so much!"

"Got it!" Izzy shouted.

"Got what?" Davis questioned.

"You can never deny it again. You are softer than soft. I got it all on tape!" Izzy laughed.

"Play it again!" Mimi smiled.

I giggled a little. I poked Davis in the side. "It's about time you let the others know. You can't keep things hidden forever."

"There's a mistletoe right above Al and Josh's heads. Who should be the one to tell them?" Davis pointed at it hanging from the ceiling.

"Al! Josh!" I called. "Look up!"

They slowly looked to see the mistletoe. It was shocking to them.

"M-m-mistle…T-t-toe?" Al stuttered.

Josh turned to the girl and softly pecked her on the cheek. Al turned almost as red as a cherry. She was dazed, I could tell.

"She likes him," Davis whispered in my ear.

"How would you know?" I demanded.

"Josh likes her too. Look, they're so red."

I smiled at them. I knew it must be true. They were perfect for each other. It also meant that Al couldn't try to take T.K. away from Yolei. It would work out better like that.

I turned to Davis. "I'm going to go see if Ken and Jordan like their gifts. Want to come along?"

"Of course," he walked next to me.

"Of course I like the gifts," Jordan smiled. "I couldn't ask for better friends."

Ken looked at me. "I see that you're wearing Davis's gift. Who gave you the braclet?"

"Tai did. Isn't it pretty?" I showed it to Jordan.

"It really is. Your brother must love you," she giggled.

We began to walk towards the others. Davis talked to Jordan while I talked to Ken. While walking, the two of them split apart and came back together. I didn't really know why until I was stopped by Jordan and Davis. They made us look up to find the mistletoe.

"No wonder you two split apart," Ken smiled.

I looked away from them. When under the mistletoe with someone, you're supposed to kiss them, but it would feel so weird kissing Ken. After what happened in the Dark World a few months ago, it would all seem so wrong.

"You better start kissing," Jordan told us.

"But just a little peck on the lips. Anything else I'll kill you…Ken," Davis agreed.

I turned back to Ken. We both leaned in and lightly kissed each other. I had a bad feeling about this, and, like always, my bad feeling was right. I could sense that I was being pulled away from reality and I was going into the Dark World.

"Kari, you're back!" a girl chirped. She slowly walked up to me. I noticed that it was my guide, Manny. I was confused.

Ken extended his arm in front of me. "Stay away from Kari!"

Manny didn't listen to Ken and still walked towards us. Ken swinged his arm and hit the girl down.

"That wasn't a very smart idea, Ken," a boy's voice laughed.

"What's going on?" Ken demanded.

I saw a figure. "Ken, don't be afraid. That girl you hit is Manny. She's Kari's guide through the Dark World. Like her, I am a guide, but not Kari's. I am your guide."

"Why? Why does Ken need a guide? He still has a pure heart," I decided.

"Ken has some other things he has to figure out. You do too, Kari," Manny stood up.

"What's your name?" Ken asked the boy.

"You have to give me a name. I am created with a body and mind, I have no name," he explained.

"Me? I have to pick? Can't you pick it yourself?"

"I guess I could. How about Ike?"

"Whatever…"

"That's a nice name. I like it a lot. I am pleased to meet you, Ike," I smiled.

"How can you trust these people? They might be evil!" Ken shouted.

"We're not evil. We're here to help," Ike said.

"Manny helped me find my heart. She made me understand that I need Davis to protect me from the darkness," I told Ken.

"What do you mean by I have other things to figure out?" Ken frowned.

"I'll explain everything to you," Ike decided.

"Kari, lets leave them alone," Manny started to walk away. I followed her.

"Please, just, please stay," Ken looked at me.

"If that's what you want," I nodded as I walked back to him.

Ike seemed to be a little puzzled. "You want her to stay?"

"Yes," Ken agreed.

"Oh boy. I don't think you want Miss Kari to hear what I have to tell you."

"Why?"

"Well…" Ike began to whisper in Ken's ear.

He was shocked. "Really?"

"Yes."

"Excuse me, but what are you two talking about?" I questioned.

Ike grew a cheesy grin. He scratched the back of his head and let out a soft chuckle. "Nothing."

"You know, Ike, you remind me of someone."

"Really? Who?"

I thought for a second, but couldn't think of who.

"D…Davis!" Manny shouted.

"Yes! Davis! Ike reminds me of Davis," I nodded.

"No!" Manny pointed. "Davis is here!"

"Darn, there goes my little talk," Ike frowned. "Great! Jordan is here too. What's going on?"

"Major malfunction!" she shrieked.

"Oh," I started to get dizzy.

"Kari?" Ken looked towards me.

I closed my eyes and opened them again. Everything seemed to go blurry. I saw the figure of Ken and looked passed him to see Davis's figure. I turned to the right of me. Ike and Manny were starting to panic. Walking up to Ken was Jordan. I was confused. In my mind, I was panicking, but I wouldn't let them know I was.

"Stop it Kari!" Manny demanded.

"Stop what?" I wondered as my head began to pound.

"You're doing this to yourself and us! If you don't quit, all of us will be destroyed!" Ike explained.

"Destroyed?" Ken was shocked.

"Yes, that's what will happen if Kari keeps panicking like this. She doesn't show it outside, but it's in her mind. I'm connected to Kari's mind, so I am affected by it. Just like Ike is connected to you!" Manny told the boy.

"But I'm not in a panic. What's going on with Ike?"

Ike fell to his knees and pointed to Jordan. "We're not only connected to you. We're connected to the ones you love. I'm connected to Jordan through heart. I'm also connected to anyone else you love, including your brother, Sam."

"What about Davis?" I screamed.

"Davis and Ken aren't worried like you two girls are. Look at the expression on Davis's face. He's showing that he's scared. He's not locking it inside!"

"The more you lock inside, the more you get hurt," Ike frowned.

I began to cry. I didn't know what to do. I was so scared. Why were Davis and Jordan here? What was going on?

_Lock it inside. It won't hurt. Don't worry about letting anyone know. Always lock things inside. Let the darkness feed on your light. Let it feed on your heart!_

I screamed from what I was hearing.

"My turn!" Ike jumped up. "Kari, Davis isn't able to talk, so I'm going to do him a favor."

"What?" I looked up.

Ike began to glow with an orange tint. "You can shine with me!"

"Take Davis's light! Let him help you through this!" Manny told me.

I looked at Davis. He was softly smiling at me.

"Davis…" I whispered.

"Sweet Kari, don't worry. We're not going to let anything hurt you. I'm here to protect you. Don't be scared. Tell me what you're feeling," Davis said.

Jordan nodded. "This is our battle too! We're always going to help. We want to protect the ones we love. We don't want to see you get hurt."

"Jordan…" Ken looked at her.

"So, you think you can stop the darkness? You know it will always crawl in your heart. You'll grow weak and die with it! You can't stop that from happening! No one can!" a voice echoed.

"I know that voice," Ken was puzzled.

"You can try, but you will never bring us down. The darkness will rule. We will consume your hearts and take over your mind! No one will stop us after that. This is more than depression!" another voice laughed in an evil way.

"That voice…Who is it? I know I know it," I tried to remember.

"Sam!" Ike yelled.

"And the broken heart of Tai!" Manny shouted.

"What?" everyone screamed.

"You did this to me Ken! It's your fault I'm dead!" Sam decided.

"If it wasn't for you, Kari, I would have the perfect life. If you would just listen!" Tai nodded.

"I didn't do anything!" we told them.

"That's the point! You killed us!" they agreed.

"But, Tai, you're still alive," I was confused.

"Kari, that is the darkness in Tai's heart. All the hate he has towards you. He blames you for everything that went wrong in his life…Including when he got hit by the car!" Manny explained.

"Sam has no one else to blame. He doesn't want you, Ken, to live a happy life," Ike joined.

"So, we're going to take your lives and use them for our fun!" Sam snickered.

"We'll kill everyone and let darkness live on! Everyone will live in darkness! They will have to suffer with us forever!" Tai smiled.

"Will that solve anything? Making other people suffer, that won't solve your problems. You have to find solutions," Jordan frowned.

"If you keep surrounded in darkness, it will just grow. The more darkness, the worse the problem gets," Davis thought.

"If you keep the darkness, you'll just get hurt more! Hurting people will hurt you!" Ken yelled.

"I've hurt many people. I know that I hurt you, Tai. You have to understand, I didn't mean to. I was hurt to, when you told me how I broke your heart. I let your pain be mine as well. I didn't want you to go through things alone. Sam, if Ken could have done something for you, he would have. It's not easy to tell a car to stop! We all suffer, but we get over it. Ken is depressed because of your death, Sam. He's suffering, but he's living with it. He's not telling everyone that he's going to make them suffer like he has. Izzy was tortured by Jennifor, but he decided to forget about it. He had his little revenge, but it was nothing more than a song. Izzy forgave her in the end, he didn't make anyone suffer. Mimi was hurt when she had to move to America, but she got over it. She came and visited us. We just try to make everything better. If we get hurt, we just look on the brighter side. If we can't find one, our friends help. If you don't have friends, you do now! I'll be your friends! I'm always willing to help, that's a promise. If you want to not hurt, you have to tell how you feel, you have to let it out. You can't keep secrets, you can't lock things inside! You have to let everything out!" I told them.

"How can you understand how we feel?" Sam wondered.

"Because, I let other people show me their pain. I don't only hold the hurt I get, but also the hurt from my friends and family. I let myself take the blame and get hurt. I make it where I suffer before anyone else. I don't think it's selfish, but I don't think it's safe. It's a bad habit, I guess. I get myself involved so they don't have to hurt alone. I got myself involved with the problem between Hanna and Willis because I wanted to help, just like I did with Izzy and Mimi. No matter what, even if I'm not involved, if they hurt, I hurt. I don't want them to feel alone. I don't want them to feel like I have. I want them to live life the best they can. They deserve it!" I let a small smile grow on my face.

"You tried to help me with my pain, but I just pushed you away. I now understand. I no longer can take my anger out at you, it was really my own fault," Tai disappeared.

"I misunderstood myself. I've been telling lies, haven't I…Kari?" Sam questioned.

"You claim to be of the darkness, but that's not true. Sam, you are sad, that's it," I nodded.

"I just wanted to be with my borther, just a little longer. I wanted him to have a better life, but I just hurt him. I'm sorry. I won't do this again," Sam left.

"All of this, just because of that kiss," Jordan giggle.

Ken looked at Ike and Manny. "Does this mean the Dark World is going to be destroyed. Is this the last time we'll ever come here?"

"You will always have sadness in your heart. Darkness also grows there. I'm sorry, but this world will never leave. It will forever stay, but you can make it better. You can make it stop growing. Use the Dark World to your advantage. This is the connection between you and Kari. Let it stay that way. Let this be the place to learn new things. Let the sadness and darkness grow, this place with turn bad again. Keep a smile on your face and think of the good things, this place will be more positive," Manny tried to explain.

"As long as the ones you love stay by your side, you should have no problem. Let their light help you. If the darkness tries to take over, take their light and let it help you. They are your light when you are the darkness. They are the protectors. Just remember something…"

Before Ike could finish, I opened my mouth. "Even though they help and bring joy, they also bring pain. Davis is my healer, he's my pain, but I'd never want it any other way."

"Um, yes," Ike laughed.

"We better get back though. We don't want the others to worry," Ken decided.

"What about Davis and Jordan?" I asked.

"They'll be back once you two are back. Get going," Manny shooed us.

Ken gave me a hug as we began to leave.

"Come and visit when ever you want!" Ike waved us off.

"We will!" Ken and I agreed as we left the Dark World.

"Kari!" Davis smiled at me.

"Hey there. The Dark World is finally stopping. It's no longer going to take over. It will be a place of light. It will have a new meaning," I decided.

He took me in his arms and held me tight. "I'm glad to hear."

"Well, wasn't that a merry Christmas?" Ken laughed.

"All we needed was Santa to make Davis happy," Jordan giggled.

"What's with people and thinking I want to see Santa? I told you, you're thinking of Ken!" Davis started to yell.

"And I told you not to bring me into these types of things," Ken reminded him.

They began to yell back and forth.

"So, that was the Dark World?" Jordan questioned.

"Yeah, you just got to see it on a better day," I nodded.

"You must be right, it didn't seem too dark to me," she agreed.

We spent the night at the concert place. We played a game of truth or dare and even hide and seek. We felt being childish. After all, winter break will soon come to an end, then we'll have to go back to school. Great, school!


	20. Chapter 20

A few more days went by, and soon Hanna and Willis had to leave. Yolei and I decided to see them off.

"Take care Hanna," I smiled at her.

"You too. Also, make sure Jordan takes care of Ken!" Hanna nodded.

Yolei poked Willis in the stomache. "Be good, and come back soon."

"When ever you come back, feel free to bring Hanna back," I agreed.

"Of course, I wouldn't want it any other way," Willis placed his hands on our shoulders. "We better get going. Take care. Please, keep in touch. And, next Christmas, you'll have to come to America!"

"We will!" Yolei and I yelled as they went to board the plane.

School started up again, but we had a few new twists.

Davis, T.K., and I walked towards our classroom. We heard Josh calling for us, as we turned to see him, we were pretty shocked. He was holding onto Al's hand.

"Josh!" I smiled.

Al turned bright red. "We confessed to each other a few days after the Christmas party."

"Congratulations! Just don't hit Al like you were going to hit Kari," T.K. snickered.

"I wasn't going to hit Kari. I might of pushed her, but she hit me before I could," Josh clarified.

"If you say so," Davis laughed.

We walked into the classroom.

"Hi," a young lady softly smiled at us.

"Um, hi," we smiled back.

"Oh, let me explain why I'm here. I'm Miss Mikomi. Mrs. Shing will be out for the rest of the school year and probably won't be coming back."

"Why not?" I wondered.

"Did she get fired?" Davis asked.

"She didn't get fired, she had her baby," Miss Mikomi explained.

"She was pregnant? No wonder she was so mean," T.K. laughed.

"Was Mrs. Shing that mean?"

"She gave us detention on the first day of school…For no reason!" Davis yelled.

"Oh! That means you must be one of the three I was told to watch out for. Uh, there was Takeru, Daisuke, and Hikari!" she remembered.

"Um, just call me Kari. And that's T.K. and Davis. We're not really troublemakers, I promise you that. Mrs. Shing just didn't like us because of my brother."

"So, Mrs. Shing was basically dubbing us the Tai of this school year. She probably does that every year," Davis decided.

"Don't mind them. They're still thinking it's winter break," Josh said.

"Davis acts this way all the time," T.K. pointed out.

"Idiot," Al giggled. "I'm Al. It's nice to have you as a teacher."

"Oh boy, this seems like a lively group. I'm actually new around here. Maybe you guys could help me. I just got this apartment and what I would really like is to buy some flowers. Do you know a good place to get some?" Miss Mikomi wondered.

"Sora's shop!" Davis and I said at the same time.

"There is a small shop at the corner of the next street over from the school. Our friend's mom runs it and they're really friendly people," T.K. nodded.

"Sounds perfect!" Miss Mikomi agreed. "Look, other people are coming in. Please take your seats, I have to explain myseld a little."

Everyone sat in their seats as the classroom filled with children.

"Hello everyone. My name is Miss Mikomi and I will be your teacher for the rest of the year. Mrs. Shing won't be coming back any time soon because during winter break she gave birth to her child. I was told that you guys didn't know about her being pregnant, so if she was ever mean, that might be why!"

We went through the day with the new teacher. She was really nice and funny. She made learning kind of fun. She didn't yell and she liked to joke around with us. It made school better with a younger teacher. She seemed to understand our problems more.

The school year went by quickly. Before we knew it, it was spring break. Davis and I ran to my house to get ready for a picnic we planned to have together, but our plans were crushed by a phone call.

"Hello?" I answered the phone.

All I could hear was sobbing on the other side.

"Hello?" I repeated myself.

"Kari, sh-she…"

It was Willis on the other line with terrible news.

"What happened? Why are you crying?" I wondered.

"Hanna's gone! I just found out! She was in the hospital last night and she told me to go home, so I did, but I wish I didn't. At 8:17 AM, she died. I wasn't there for her to hold her hand, I wasn't there. I feel so bad. I didn't know until I got home a few minutes ago," he explained.

"No!" I fell to the ground. "Willis, you poor thing. What can I do to help? What do you need me to do? I'll do anything!"

"In three days, we're holding a funeral for her. I would like it if everyone could come."

"We'll be there!"

"Kari, thank you for helping me. I'm going to go now. Her parents want to talk to me."

"Take care," I hung up the phone and turned to Davis. "It was Willis."

My eyes were filled with tears. Davis could tell what happened and took me in his arms.

"Hush, it will be ok. We'll see him. We'll be there for him. No matter what," Davis promised.

Within the days of finding out the death of Hanna, we got the money to go to America. It was sad to us because we only got to see her once. She was such a pretty girl and I wantred to know more about her, and I think somehow I will. Hanna was lucky, she was able to survive as much as she did because of will, she just couldn't fight the pain anymore. Her heart gave out and there was no way for her to survive. Willis was so sad about this. Out of all the things that killed her, it was heart failure.

Willis stood in front of everyone. He tried to force a smile on his face, but he couldn't.

"Hanna was very special to me. She had a hard life. It all started when she was in Australia. She was depressed and suicidal. Her heart was crying out for attention, buit she never found it. When she moved to Japan, she found two friends, Sean and Ken. They didn't know about her ways, so they didn't know how much they helped her. Shortly after moving to Japan, she had to move to America. All her sadness came back, and she tried to kill herself. That's when her body couldn't funciton right. She was groing weak, and know one knew, but she could have died any second. When I met her, she was so beautiful and full of life. I never thought that out of all the boys in this would, I would be the one to win her love. I only started to go out with her last summer. We became such good friends and didn't like to be apart. I didn't know that she had such a hard life. Hanna didn't tell me until winter break. It broke my heart, but I would never leave her side. She was the shine that brightened my day, and I'm sad without her. I wish I could have known her even better than I did. I was glad that I brought her with me to Japan for Christmas. Though, now my sadness is shared with all of my friends, not just myself. Even though she is gone, I will never lose her. Hanna will forever be in my heart. She will always have my love, no matter where she is. I will forever love her. I will miss her, but I won't let myself fall into depression. I promised her that. I won't break my promise," Willis finally let a small smile form on his face.

That day was filled with tears. I didn't like the fact that I couldn't stay longer. I really wanted to just stay and comfort Willis, but he told me I had to leave.

"You remind me so much of Hanna, please, Kari, just go. I don't think you can help me, I have to help myself. I'll stay strong Kari, but you have to stay strong yourself. I know this pulled a lot of tears out of you, but keep happy. I know I'm trying. Thank you for coming," Willis shooed me into the plane.

When we arrived back in Japan, Davis came to my house. We decided that we would watch a movie and then he would go home. Tai and my parents were gone tonight, so we would get to be by ourselves. As I put the movie in, I smiled at Davis. We sat down on the couch and he held me in his arms. I ended up falling asleep before the movie was over, but Davis didn't wake me. He stayed with me the whole time. Finally, I heard the door crash open as Tai came in.

"I know you know where he is!" I heard June's voice echo.

"No I don't! Don't you have someone else you can bother?" Tai barked back.

"There he is! He's with her!" June screamed.

Davis jumped up. "Oh no!"

"You two fell asleep during the movie? That's terrible," Tai laughed.

"It's been hard, you know?" I smiled.

"Come on Davis, we're going home," June pulled at her brother.

Tai lightly pushed her away. "You're a bad big sister."

"You have the nerve to say that to me!"

"Davis is tired. He's been having a rough time. You know, June, you could be a little more caring about his feelings. I thought, maybe, you would know how it feels to be in love. You know? You've been heart broken, am I right? June, Davis is hurting. One of his friends passed away. Maybe you should be sensitive towards his feelings. If you don't, well, lets just leave it at that."

"I'll tell Mom that you're spending the night. Ok, Davis?" June looked away.

"Mom will never let me sleepover here ever again! If you tell her that, she'll just come and make things worse," Davis frowned.

"So, you're at T.K.'s house, right?" June smiled at him.

"June, you're a pretty good person. Even if your heart broken without Matt, I'm sure you'll find the right person for you," I told her.

"Thank you, big sister," Davis laughed.

"Behave! If you don't, I'll let Tai punish you!" June walked out the door.

"Cool, I get to punish you!" Tai grew an evil grin.

I jumped off the couch. "What's Mom going to say about Davis spending the night?"

"Just, go back to sleep on the couch. She'll see the two of you and think it's cute. If she wakes you up, she'll tell one of you to go into the bedroom and the other to sleep on the couch. I'll pretend I came home early, so I never knew about the two of you on the couch. Ok?" Tai decided.

"Good plan," Davis agreed.

"Thank you, Tai," I sat back on the couch as he went to our room.

Davis smiled at me. "I guess the darkness that was consuming Tai's broken heart is finally at rest."

"I don't think he even knew what he was doing. I don't want him to know. It will tear him up inside. If he knows, he knows. I'm not going to tell him, I can't."

"Fine, we'll leave it a mystery unless he already knows."

I let Davis wrap me in his arms as we fell back asleep.

"School is almost over. Just a few more weeks and it will be summer vacation," Yolei smiled.

"So much has happened. I can't believe it has only been a year," I agreed.

Cody nodded. "I can remember everything like it was yesterday."

"Same with me, but we can't think of only the past. So much has happened, but here's a question. What hasn't happened?" Davis wondered.

"I never thought of it that way," T.K. was shocked.

We laid in a hill and let the breeze pull through our hair. The wind pulled off T.K.'s hat and it flew through the sky.

"T.K., your hat!" I sat up.

"Don't worry, I other ones at home."

"Next year, things will be different. Everyone other than me will be in high school," Cody pointed out to us.

"That won't make a difference. We'll always have days where we just sit on a hill and let the breeze pull through our hair. We'll always have fights and picnics. Nothing will ever change," I decided.

"Actually, a few things have changed.," Davis frowned.

"What do you mean?" Yolei questioned.

"Our friendships grew and so did our relationships. Even if things do change, we'll still have days like this. Even when we grow older, we'll still have these peaceful days."

"This is who we are. Isn't it? Everyone is just another face in the crowd, but we're different. Aren't we?" I asked.

"Yeah, we're the people that stand out just a little more. We're the ones who will take the blame, get slaughtered down, but still live another day. We're the ones who don't give up and live life to the fullest, no matter how hard it gets. We're the ones who stand together, no matter what!"

"Even when we're sad ore mad, we always have someone there for us. I like it like that. I know I wouldn't be here in Japan if it wasn't for you guys," T.K. nodded.

"I don't think we're different. I think we're just a little misunderstood," Cody laughed.

"Yeah! That's it! Misunderstood!" I giggled.

We sat on that hill for hours just talking. It was unclear to us why we were this way, but we wouldn't want it any other way. It wasn't that we were different or misunderstood, it was just the way we liked to be. If we stayed the way we are, we'll never grow any further apart. We stand together, strong, as one. When one person falls, we all fall. That's our code of friendship. It was a code that would never be broken. I was happy the way we were.

"I want a rice ball!" Davis yelled.

"I'll get some…If I can throw them at you!" Yolei grew an evil grin.

"I'm suddenly not so hungry."

Yes, this was the way things should always be. We should just be able to stay this way forever, but we won't be able. As we grow older, I'm scared that our group may grow farther away. I'll stay strong. As long as I have Davis as my boyfriend and Tai as my brother, I will always be strong. Though, we may move away, start our own families, and meet new people, I don't think we'll ever forget our friendships that we have. We'll forever be friends, no matter!

I wish that Hanna and Willis could be here to share our happiness, but I'm afraid that Hanna will never share this joy again. I'm sure that Willis will one say will be able to be the cheerful boy he once was. Though, it made him sad to lose his first love, I know it will make him stronger. He will forever love Hanna, just like I will forever love Davis. Things like that can never change.

"This is…Nice," I closed my eyes.


	21. Chapter 21

**After Word:**

This summer, Willis decided to come to Japan, it was fun. He was finally able to keep his smile on his face. He said that even though he misses Hanna, he can't let himself feel sorry forever. He promised her that, he didn't want to break that promise.

Ken and I make short visits to the Dark World every wekk or so. It keeps us in touch with our inner selves. Ike and Manny always likes to see us. Even if we created them, it seems like they have a mind of their own. We created everything in there, even the darkness. At least, that's what we decided. We'll never know for sure.

Another year went by. I was scared mto start high school, but I still couldn't wait. It will be such a great challenge. As long as I have my friends with me, I know I'll make it through.

This isn't the end. There is never an end.


	22. Chapter 22

**NOTE:** I'm so happy! I'm finally finished with this story! It feels so good to get this done. So, let me get down with business:

I don't own the following characters:

-Hikari "Kari" Kamiya (the main character)

-Daisuke "Davis" Motomiya (the short tempered boyfriend)

-Takeru "T.K." Takaishi (the best friend)

-Miyako "Yolei" Inoue (the smart one)

-Iori "Cody" Hida (the shy, sensitive, little guy)

-Taichi "Tai" Kamiya (the older brother)

-Sora Takenouchi (the sporty one)

-Mimi Tachikawa (the popular, "pretty" one)

-Koushiro "Izzy" Izumi (the computer wiz kid)

-Yamato "Matt" Ishida (the rock star)

-Mr. Ishida (the dad of the boys)

-Ms. Takaishi (the lying mother)

-Ken Ichijouji (the mysterious one)

-Joe Kido (He was too busy with college to be talked about a lot)

-Willis (their American friend)

-Mrs. Kamiya (the bad cooking mother)

-Mr. Kamiya (the father that's rarely there)

These are the characters I created myself:

-Sidney (the punk rock chick)

-Allison "Al" Amber (the tomboy)

-Daniel "Danny" Lee (the fast paced brother)

-Joshua "Josh" Filmoshin (the smooth move jerk)

-Hanna (the dead girlfriend)

-Lilly (Even though I rarely talked about her)

-K.C. (the heart breaker)

-Terry (the girl who had a change of hearts)

-Liz (the new girlfriend)

-Shawn (the fake dad)

-Manny (Kari's guide in the Dark World)

-Ike (Ken's guide in the Dark World/ acts a lot like Davis...Scarey)

So, I don't own any of the characters from Digimon. Too bad, I wish I did.

I hope you enjoyed the sequal to "Just A Story". It took me forever to finish. If my math is right, it's been over a year since I started it. It only took me a few months to write the first one (and it was longer!). I noticed something once I finished this story, Kari, T.K., and Davis are in the same grade in the story as I was when I started it. If I write another story, they'll be starting high school, so will I! Weird! Actually, I'm planning on writing more with this story line, I hope you'll enjoy them all once I'm finished. Well, I hope you enjoyed! Oh, and sorry I killed off Hanna if anyone liked her (I didn't really like her, she was kind of mean). I was really thinking of killing off Tai, but I decided not to. Who knows what will happen once they start high school? It will be a whole new adventure. If I killed off Tai, that would have made Kari's depression hectic; I couldn't handle that. Her break up with Davis was hard enough to do! I better stop, I might give away what I have planned for the next story line for this story if I don't!

NOTE: Heh, the third part is already started. I'm hoping that will be done soon! Just so you know, the third part is a lot different from the first two! I'll try to have a preview of it when I get more of it done!


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